Guest guest Posted April 16, 2002 Report Share Posted April 16, 2002 Abuse of animals - The Star 26.3.03. I was at the Malaysia International Pet Expo 2002 which was held from March 14 to 17 at the Mines Exhibition Centre in Seri Kembangan, Selangor. I was disappointed and sad to see that most of the animals there were not well taken care of. Children and adults were allowed into the Petting Zoo without being given any instructions or guidelines. Children were allowed to play with the rabbits without being told how to handle them. Some were seen carrying the rabbits by the ears. The rabbits were mistreated. Instead of hopping around happily they looked stressed. Some were even too scared to move, while others were nuzzling each other with their heads down. They were scared the children would pick them up and throw them down like toys. There were animals which were kept in cages that were so narrow that they could not even step forward or backward. To add to their misery, there were visitors who kept poking them with their fingers. The four day exhibition was held from 10am to 8pm. This is how long the animals had to suffer. Is the pet expo a way to educate the public about animals? What disgusts me most is the argument that animals were put on this earth for humans to use as they please. This is nonsense. Every time you speak up for the animals, it gives them another chance to live in peace. - Have Mercy - Kuala Lumpur. In response to the above letter - The Star 16th. April 02. Be kind to animals WE REFER to your letter, Abuse of Animals (Speaking Up, March 26). Sahabat Alam Malaysia agrees with the writer that a pet expo is certainly not the way to educate the public about animals if they are treated as “living toys” for the delight of children. Talk of creating a caring society does not seem to extend to animals, judging from the many instances of cruelty to animals or abandonment of animals. People are not taught to have respect for animals or to be responsible for them. Pregnant animals are sometimes abandoned because owners do not want the problem of unwanted puppies or kittens. If a mother is kept, the litter would be abandoned. People who take such actions are not concerned with what might happen to the animals after abandonment. Young puppies are acquired and put on a leash straightaway. It is sad to see a puppy wanting to play but unable to do so. Most chained dogs have little or no shade at all. Kept under such conditions,it is not surprising if the dogs become aggressive. When these dogs attack the owner or someone else, all the blame is heaped on the poor animal. Little attention is paid to the mistreatment of animals on farms, or of those used for public entertainment or research. Animals and birds are killed in slaughterhouses where frightened animals are dumb witnesses to the killing and the mental agony of waiting for a similar fate can easily be imagined. The circus is itself a small world of horror. While most people laugh at and applaud the tricks of the animals, how many would think of the long hours of torture that these animals go through to perform that two-minute trick? Captivity and an unnatural lifestyle give rise to neurotic behaviour. Animal shows portray a distorted view of wildlife. Animal experiments are nothing short of torture. Injected with vile germs, addicted to large doses of morphine, made to endure violent electric shocks, or driven insane by the application of monstrous apparatus, animals suffer intolerable pain in the name of scientific research until death mercifully claims them. Captivity of wild animals for circuses, safari parks and even zoos provides an environment of fear, boredom and anxiety. The animals are denied all that is natural to them in terms of food, activity, socialisation and natural behaviours. Pacing, bar-biting, circling and self-mutilation are common among performing animals and animals in captivity. Their spirits have been broken; they are degraded, isolated, shackled, lonely and bored. Their captive state provides no educational value. An animal lover is not one who goes around looking after animals or preventing cruelty. It starts with a feeling of respect for the natural world around us. It is not about buying a bird and keeping it in a cage. It is about letting it be the way it should be – free from captivity. How many of us have the courage to stop the cruelty and fight for these poor creatures, knowing their plight and seeing them being ill-treated in front of our very eyes? The one-week annually-designated Be Kind to Animals Week is not doing any good to improve the situation. The problem lies in a general ignorance as to what constitutes cruelty and abuse. There is a lack of knowledge on the needs of animals and the responsibilities of animal ownership. The existing Animal Ordinance 1953 is long outdated and the Municipal Council By-Law 1977 is more concerned with the control of animals than with their protection. Several amendments are urgently needed to make the regulations effective in fulfilling their objectives to alleviate the suffering of animals. Steps must also be taken to ensure that unwanted animals are destroyed by local authorities wherever necessary either instantaneously or after being rendered insensible to pain or suffering, and not in the present manner where unwanted dogs are being caught and shot. Laws on slaughtering of animals should be tightened so that unnecessary pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is eliminated before and during slaughter. Apart from the attempt to eliminate cruelty by means of education, a provision could well be inserted in the Act whereby public exhibitions of animals should be prohibited if they involve the infliction of pain or terror on the animal. Public awareness is half the battle won. There can be no long-term solutions until enough people take the necessary steps to end animal suffering. Let us step forth with a clear vision: Be kind to animals. _______________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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