Whether we kill them or smother them with love, we exploit the creatures which share the planet, says Eileen Battersby ahead of World Animal Week
We eat them, shoot them for fun, bait them, kill them for bits of their bodies, breed them for fur coats and stud fees, use their strength, train them, demean them, collect them as status symbols, subject them to scientific experiments, exploit them, exhibit them, commercialise their beauty, sell their young, imprison them, neglect them, sentimentalise them, demonise them, fawn over them, indulge them, confuse them, make complex emotional demands on them and smother them with unhealthy affection.
God's creatures, from the bird in the sky, to the jungle cat to the sperm whale, to the domestic pet, not forgetting the most heroic of all, the cow, the sheep, the pig and the battery hen, force fed in life and terrorised in transport for slaughter, do not fare all that well at the hands of man. Aside from the deliberate slaughter for gain or sport, humans possess an inexhaustible capacity for destruction of landscape and the environment in general. This devastates habitat and, with it, wildlife. The loss of any animal species is a tragedy; the suffering, destruction and wilful extinction of an animal is a crime as well as a further loss to mankind.
International wildlife agencies and animal welfare organisations across the world are well aware of man's ambivalent, contradictory and hypocritical relationship with animals. It is time everyone stopped and truthfully reconsidered their attitude to the diverse, mysterious non-humans with whom we share the planet. Next Tuesday, the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, marks the beginning of World Animal Week. We are also approaching the season of terror for dogs, cats and horses - Halloween fire works.
You don't have to be a philosopher or an artist to appreciate a simple truth, animals are among nature's wonders. Long before clever film-makers began filming wildlife documentaries, humans were conscious of being fascinated with wild animals. This same fascination is invariably countered by a shameful lack of respect. The world, it seems, is divided between those who support zoos and circuses, and those who detest them. Animals are also unlucky in their friends; many a stupid and damaging gesture has been perpetrated in the name of well-intentioned, if exasperated, animal rights campaigners who damage their cause by resorting to vandalism and assault.
Particularly repulsive is the manner in which the West makes pronouncements against the ways in which native tribes kill animals. Ancient cultures and traditions, religious sacrifices as well as the need to eat, have dictated the life of hunter gatherer and peasant societies for centuries. In remote parts of our ever-shrinking world, these customs continue. But the intervention of mercenary, first-world cultures has distorted tribal practices. The infamous bush meat trade has moved far beyond hunting for survival and now includes a particularly disgusting souvenir sideline such as sourcing gorilla hand ashtrays. The mountain gorilla is endangered; the giant panda, almost impossible to breed in captivity, is on the verge of extinction.
With three of its subspecies now lost forever and its five surviving subspecies facing extinction, the tiger, lord of the Asian forest, is under threat. Few wild animals are as revered by Westerners as the elephant, yet Western market demands sustain the ivory trade. Tourism has also caused a voyeuristic and invasive approach to animals which is affecting breeding and juvenile survival rates.
CLOSER TO HOME though, while we wring our hands over the fate of wild animals in Africa and Asia, seal culls take place on our own shores and few complain. Seals may live in the sea, but the fish, apparently, belong to man.
We also ignore the effect farming practices can have on animals. When industrial, manufacturing and farming waste pollute rivers and lakes, concern is more usually expressed about angling and tourism, rather than the survival of fish species.
How the righteous object to fox hunting, the only context in which it seems the fox is regarded as an animal not vermin. The irony remains that far more Irish foxes have died on Irish roads courtesy of motorists who no doubt disapprove of fox hunting, than on the hunting field. Objections to fox hunting are more rooted in class resentments than love for the much-maligned fox.
The horse is not all that popular either. Unless involved in racing, breeding or competition, the Irish horse has limited exercise options. There are no bridle paths and many motorists and motor cyclists, even on country roads, are not sympathetic to horses. Anyone travelling the roads of Ireland will also have noticed the high numbers of pulverised badgers, hares, rabbits and cats.
Visitors from Britain are always surprised at the number of stray dogs they see in Ireland. According to the ISPCA, there are five times as many stray dogs in Ireland compared to Britain. Yet many of these Irish strays may not be homeless. Their owners simply decide that the best way of exercising their "pet" is by opening the door. Such freedom is dangerous. The dog then sets off on a random ramble that often ends in a local pound, with unwanted pregnancies en route. There, a five-day reprieve is all that stands between life and death. If a dog is surrendered by its owner, there is no five-day stay of execution, it is put down immediately.
Rehousing is limited. According to ISPCA figures, between 25,000 and 30,000 stray and unwanted dogs - the animal allegedly most beloved of man - are destroyed in Ireland each year. The Department of Environment, which offers figures of dogs put down by each county council in the State, estimates that a dog is put down every five minutes of every working day in the Republic. That old cliche "it's a dog's life", like most cliches, carries a lot of truth.
Dogs have been part of the family from ancient times, sharing the tribal shelter, but modern society makes life difficult for them. Banned from parks and beaches, today's dogs spend their lives dreaming about the simple pleasure of running free.
Unfortunately "running" means "out of control". In the city a dog can't bark, or defecate; a run is not a right, it is a forbidden pleasure.
Suburban dogs, owned by humans who work all day and are too exhausted on return to walk the dog, live in pens and garages. Yet owning a dog, aside from being one of life's privileges, is the vital first life-forming responsibility a child can experience. For many children a pet is their first meaningful relationship beyond their parents, its death their first tragedy.
City and suburban dogs aren't the only canines living under house arrest; cats do too, because of the high numbers of feline road deaths.
In the countryside, the non-working dog is often viewed with suspicion. Even the mildest pet is capable of becoming a sheep killer. Two or three dogs out for a ramble quickly turn into a pack. And one of the saddest sights is that of the redundant sheep dog. Many an old working dog, no longer needed, has been let stray to fend for itself.
BREEDING IS ANOTHER area of potential exploitation. Should the dog be a pedigree, it is bred for profit, while showing leads to the breeding of freaks to meet breed specifications. Pedigree pups can fetch up to €1,000. If cross-bred, as are 80 per cent of Irish dogs, its young is unwanted. Neutering, urged by vets as responsible pet care, has become an expensive responsibility. This routine surgery, particularly in the case of male dogs, is now costing over €100, with bitch spaying ranging from €120 to €150. Owners can "shop around" and charities have lower charges but some vets appear to feel pet owning should be means-tested and those who can pay high fees should.
True love is not stuffing your Labrador with chocolate. Dogs are sociable, companionship means more than titbits.
But it's not all bad. Jane Bonner of Waggy Trails in Naas, Co Kildare, believes more owners, aware they have no time to walk their dog, are prepared to pay for the service. Dogs need exercise. She walks groups of up to three dogs, "any more is not fair on the dog", and she disapproves of the New York solution, walking apartment pets in groups of up to 15.
"Dogs deserve real attention," she adds. Animals enhance life. They do have rights - and it is about morality, not righteousness.
www.ispca.ie/press/waw220904.htm