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August 18, 2007

Doggone fools

By MICHAEL COREN

 

OK, the evidence is in.

 

People who are obsessed with the welfare of animals and become

hysterical when they hear about a dog or cat being abused are mentally

ill.

 

No need here for compromise or silliness. Animal rights types are

mentally ill.

 

Which was shown once again this week when 50 protesters assembled

outside the offices of the Humane Society in Toronto after an officer

was suspended for not doing his job properly.

 

What the man actually did was handcuff to a car door a twit who had

left his rottweiler in the vehicle on a particularly hot day.

 

The handcuffed dog-abuser was then attacked by some locals and given a

few slaps around the head.

 

He could, of course, have been knifed, beaten to death or hit by

another car. The Humane Society zealot had a duty to both save the dog

and guarantee the safety of the accused.

 

But rather than see the obvious and realize that even people who are

cruel to doggies have basic human rights, the usual suspects from

neurotics anonymous staged a demonstration in support of their new hero.

 

Good God, get a grip! People matter more than animals.

 

Even bad people matter more than animals.

 

Even very bad people matter more than animals.

 

No relativism please, no soppy arguments about cute puppies compared

to mass murderers.

 

The human spirit and soul is unique and deserves respect, dignity and

reverence.

 

Animals, on the other hand, are there to be used. Not abused, but

used. So we can eat them, wear their skins, experiment on them if we

can thus improve the human condition.

 

A million kittens do not one human life make. So if by testing

medication on a million kittens we can find a cure for cancer, we

should have not a second's pause.

 

Animals have no rights, but we have responsibilities. To treat them

properly.

 

Farmers do this best because they treat them precisely as animals.

Keep them fed and warm, show them affection and care, make them better

when sick, but kill them if need be.

 

The lunacy in Toronto is repeated every day all over Canada and all

over the Western world.

 

Less so, however, in countries where there is mass poverty and people

work the fields. In those places there is far more balance and an

understanding of nature not tainted by Hollywood sentimentality.

 

Nor should we accept the argument that people who care passionately

about animals also care passionately about people. Some might, but

most don't.

 

If you doubt me, ask an animal nut if they would kill a beast to save

a child. Notice the pause, the ambivalence, the pain.

 

We've become so confused in our understanding of humanity that we

adore anything that seems to be cute or vulnerable.

 

The broken, bleeding human may spit in your face, may scream at you,

may be a pain in the rear.

 

But not little Rover or cuddly Whiskers. Because they are dumb they

must be special and because they give us pleasure they must be kind.

Nonsense. Animals can be cruel, are invariably selfish and exist for

us and not us for them.

 

At its most basic it's little different from weeping over a Princess

Diana you never knew or teenagers hugging in front of the television

cameras when a tragedy occurs at school. We lost our sense some time ago.

 

Tragedy is, we hardly notice.

 

Contact Coren via his website: http://www.michaelcoren.com

 

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