The validity of our acts today will be judged by people who will not be born in our lifetime. I am confident that history will absolve the animal welfare workers, the conservationists, and the animal rights movement of the accusations and the libels of the public relations companies and doctors representing government and industry.
The fate of the animals being killed in the wild will be resolved by either being saved and allowed to coexist in peace with humanity, or they will be exterminated by the human race. Our greed, growing population, pollution, and destruction of habitats will never allow the perpetuation of the myth of “unsustainable harvest”.
It is our desire to see the cruelty to animals ended forever. If this is unreasonable, then we would rather be considered unreasonable than to compromise the life of another living creature, or the right of a species to survive.
Slavery was once illegal, and those that helped the slaves escape were arrested. Now those people are considered heroes. We have come to understand that the slaves were “human” and deserved rights too. Some day all animal advocates will be considered heroes, as more and more people come to realize that animals are thinking, feeling beings too. What is legally right and what is morally right are often two different things.
Animal cruelty is a very serious crime, and individuals who perpetrate heinous acts of cruelty should not go unpunished or unrecognized by the criminal justice system. There is a well-established link between animal cruelty and human violence, and exhibitions of animal cruelty are indicators of a loss in empathy in individuals, according to an overwhelming body of sociological and scientific research.
We not only must constantly upgrade our animal cruelty statutes, but make sure that they are enforced! We need more team players in animal control, humane society, and police agencies. We need more media attention and investigations conducted by animal advocates. Changing the law alone will not stop the offenses.
What we must do is to change our perceptions and open our eyes. After all, animals inhabited this world way before us. What right have we to abuse and enslave them to 'improve' our lives? Lawmakers must be made aware of this connection between animal cruelty and interpersonal violence, and laws changed to detect, rehabilitate or punish animal abusers. Humane education should be practiced in schools. Pets should be treated as members of the family, not as an inferior species. Children should be taught to respect all animals, then they will too respect all life. Right now, we should increase awareness of this connection between animal cruelty and interpersonal violence. Imagine if people were taught this fact, how many animal and human lives could have been saved.
We should also give more credence and respect to those that are caretakers of Mother Earth and all of her creatures. The value of those individuals and organizations that rescue, rehabilitate, fight for, and educate about those that they care for are an extremely important public service. The majority work for no pay, with their volunteer work having a more spiritual value. Regardless, they save government agencies considerable monies and time for work that they should be doing, and save billions in tax dollars accumulatively.
They should not be harassed, but should be supported. Even the little old lady with too many cats that she’s trying to rescue, should be able to turn to the government for help when she gets in over her head, instead of raiding and shutting her down. Even those who have their hearts in the right place can get overwhelmed, but instead they are treated with scorn. There is no assistance, and no second chances.
All of the animal abuse cases listed in the book, and more, should shake the souls of all of us who have been given stewardship over all creatures, great and small. And it should shake the Legislature and the Judiciary to pass a no-nonsense animal cruelty statute for the whole country.
The defenseless among us, and their caretakers, deserve that protection. The findings don't lie. Without swift action against those who abuse animals, our courts are liable to see those abusers again, but with human blood on their hands.
So we will continue to stand for what we believe in, and continue to refuse to back down and go away. No person, business or government has the right to destroy the gift of life. No one has the right to steal from the future in order to make a quick buck today. Enough is enough.
