Rescue Journal

animal activision...aka... seeing what will be.

Carol · Jun. 8, 2008

there are folks who are really good at predicting the ripple effect. i am not much good at it altho at least i understand that ripples happen. sometimes i can think things out til the ripples are spread too far too see but i am never really sure of the ripples that turn to waves when they reach shore.

there was a recent discussion on one of the forums about abolishing animal slavery to man...this ranges from donkeys pulling overloaded carts in taiwan, to wearing leather, fur, or eating any kind of flesh, it even reaches into companionship because animals aren't meant to be human friends...so puffy and muffy and fluffy wil finally someday be free, pony clubs and cheap spay/neuter clinics will become a thing of the past. saddle makers and ferriers and vets better find a new job.

it is an interesting concept...every animal on earth forever free from human use, and human need, and human abuse and exploitation....this means ALL human interference and intervention. and i try to envision this earth-bound garden of eden, this fur/feather and scale-filled utopia where animals only purpose is to be born and to live their lives however they were meant to be.
i try to trace the ripple effect of what this will mean...i can't fathom it, it is too far beyond me and the world i see. i can trace out the ripples of a world where animals have the right to respect and compassion and are given fair payment for what we take from them, but the other is just too big for me to see...what would this garden of eden really be?

of course this is the problem with all great human ideas...god didn't give us all of the answers, he left out infallible sight and the crystal balls to see what this new future will bring.
the wright brothers would never have conceived that their invention would one day become a killing machine for suicide missions to take out buildings filled with people or to attack the pentagon...they couldn't see the hyjacks or the bombings of entire landscapes, the utter devastastion of their flying machines...all from one simple dream for man to fly. did edison and franklin think channeled electricity would be one day be routed thru a chair to kill convicted humans or used to torture prisoners of war or to power computers that can send a virus into everyones home? did they know that prolonged exposure to the giant electrical towers can cause brain cancers in the very young? what about the guys goofing with the atom...did they see hiroshima, did they see the cold war with fingers hovering over someones invented red button that could blow up the earth? did they see the destruction of Iraq as a precautionary measure just in case?
when the poppy seed was first harvested and discovered to stop terminal pain, did that ancient healer of medicine see an entire planet of addicts? what did plato see, what did freud?..did the good psycho doctor see the ranks of mental institutions soar? who invented ritalin to help ADDH kids function in society? did he see them dying of heart attacks, did he see the number one choice for cheap street drug turn into a teenage money making underground industry?

mankind is full of great ideas, we have been from the day we learned to walk upright...but where do those ideas take us, where do we end up?

i am too much of a coward to try to change the entire world of animals, i can't see what ultimately that means for them and the human race...i feel safer trying to change parts of it to ensure their use to mankind is guarded by strictly enforced and embraced by all laws that pay them with respect and compassion and kindness and above all a deep and abiding gratitude for their use. that world i can see.

Comments

Marisa

I think, in our dealings with animals, humans simply need to say to themselves, "What would I want if I were in the same position?"

If my species were simply being bred so that in one year or two (or much less for some species) I would be herded into a slaughterhouse, hung up by my leg and my throat slit so that the dominant species could then garnish me with parsley and eat me (probably leaving a good part of my flesh to be thrown into the garbage since they had a big lunch that day) I can honestly say that I would want my species to die out. This is not a life I could bear.

Same if I were stuck in a cage for the rest of my life so that others could gawk at me as "the last of my species". Please just kill me.

How many of us have said, "Oh god...if I have to be hooked up to a machine to live, please just pull the plug" or "I could never live if I weren't free".
I always think that if the animals who live tortured lives could depict the human race in general we would be the equivalent of "demons" and "devils". We would be the darkness.

Shelley and Deb are so right...there is no utopia and there will probably be no equality in our lifetimes. But, it would be nice if we could start to consider animals as if they were our equals, as if their interests mattered as much as ours. That's why I like SAINTS...I feel that Carol does this with her animals....considers their interests from their point of view. In actual fact, very few rescuers do this. They simply make the assumption that what they determine is good for the animals they rescue is the infallible truth.

I wish that we could extend our consideration to all animals. How does the pig feel never seeing daylight? How does the calf feel ripped from his mother with a chain around his neck so he will keep his movements to a minimum? How do the sharks feel in the oceans which we pollute with no thought? How would WE feel if we were in the same position?

A world where animals are free doesn't scare me...this world once existed before domestication, before animal slavery. If we could get there again with a deeper level of understanding, with what we know about the destructive power of our species above all others, if we could get to a place where we were all free to make our own decisions about our own lives (in whichever way each species makes those decisions) we would need to find a new way to exist together. And I bet many animals would still choose to live with and love humans. But they were free to make that choice.

It doesn't scare me because the most dangerous animals to let loose are us. And a large portion of us have been loose for a very long time now. So, how can it be any worse than what we have today?

Alex

Dogs have stood by man for thousands of years, always with loyalty and devotion, like no other animal. I don't ever want to see a world without man and woman's best friend, but I wish we lived in a world with less suffering and sadness. I wish the only people that acquired dogs were serious and caring about their special responsibilities.

Carol

this is such an interesting discussion.. i am thinking...

companion animals already exist...we cannot make that one fact go away. and do we then take this one step further (like humans always do...example BSL legislation in italy...62 breeds with welsh corgis on the list?)
...anyway..
do we take this one step further and let african humans die off because 3/4's of them are suffering too....where does this stop this egotistical mindset of humans that we have any right to decide who should exist and who shouldn't?

what we have a responsibility and moral obligation to ensure is that we treat the world that we live in, and ALL of the creatures that dwell here with the utmost respect and care.
good lord...here is a stretch for us...ultimately and in all fairness...it is not the animals who are the exploiters, abusers and destroyers...it is in fact the humans...would it not make more sense then to leave the animals alone and in peace on a planet they don't destroy and ban human reproduction til our species dies off? cuz aren't we really and truly the problem?

Shelley

But it ends any possibility of them suffering at the hands of human beings. And domestic animals were never supposed to exist anyway. They are the creations of humans.

I'm just musing here... but the human species really does have so much power and such a sense of entitlement - I wonder if we can see what's really right?

PS Don't ask me, I haven't a clue.

Carol

and here is what i wonder...if we achieve this state and ALL cats, dogs, gerbils and what have you, never reproduce and slowly die off.... did we just commit animal species genocide and is that what we really intend to accomplish? wouldn't this mean that companion animals would cease to exist and this is supposed to make them free?...it makes them extinct.

Shelley

My cat Nigel just read my post above and he is MORTIFIED that I would be so presumptuous as to assume that his existence is predicated upon the whims of such a pea-brained species as humans. He then threw up on the bed and stomped off to destroy something.

Shelley

To some people it's not too late to fix what we've done. Some activist groups would like a end to the breeding of domestic animals and livestock. This includes companion animals as well. If all domestic animals are kept from reproducing then they will die out within a generation and will no longer exist for humans to use and abuse. If all cats, dogs and other companion animals are altered, and I mean all - then *poof*! no more fluffy, muffy and tuffy. Then, to complete the utopian vision, humans must not interact with the animal kingdom at all. We stay separate and do as little damage as possible.

I can imagine what that world would look like ( for me personally, it would mean no more cat fur balls to vacuum under the bed and never having to clean another litterbox ), but I'm not sure the human race will ever give up our animals, whether it's a steak or a guide-dog, even if it really is the best thing for them. Even if it means the end of their suffering. I'm pretty sure it won't happen in my lifetime.

Eva Stock

Carol andf Deb;

I think the hunters would not have enough restaint to leave the animals be. I also think the mean and cruel people on this planet would be uncontrollable. The animals would handle it before mankind would that is for sure. I would be terrified for the animals myself.

I have made two lists of am care for the bunny clinic, one in there and one in the mp room so people can mark down when they can help out . I will put them up in the a.m. ok? Tammy on thurs. and Sun. Me daily to do Simon until he is integrated with the others and Colton and Frodo. Some days I will be able to do the bunnies too depending on my house schedule ok. The days that I know I have also marked in the staff. Sound good? Would you like me to do a list for the Americats as well? Eva Dog walk list is done and open on my desk in the mp room. Have updated the charts. Will check on the chickens tomorrow and chart on them too. Eva

Deb

There are the thoughts running through your feverish mind at 8:00 on a Sunday morning? God Carol, you make me tired thinking about what you think about.

I believe, that in a perfect world, all living creatures would be equal (not like "Animal Farm" where everyone is equal, but the pigs are more equal). Unfortunately it is far too late for that. Humankind made it impossible for other animals to exist on their own when we domesticated, subjugated or eradicated every species at will.

Utopia does not exist, and sadly, those who believe animals can be "made free" just by letting them go are not at all realistic. We can do a hell of a lot to make the lives of all animals better, but "free"? It's too late for that.