subject: Animals And Birds [print this page] The word Animal races my memory back to the mid 70s documentary on wildlife in SA titled Beautiful People- Some Call them animals, could someone have stated the facts better. In his greed, avarice and utter disregard to other living creatures, man forgot the basic fact that planet earth belonged to them too and they had a right to live here as much we do, with many of them having lived here much before we arrived on the scene. Ecologists and naturalists have many times rang the caution bell that man is a part of the unseen ecology chain of living organisms and is destined or ill-fated to live or perish with them. We cannot eliminate all other living forms and monopolise the earth for ourselves and unless we stop this wanton killing of fauna and flora we would soon perish with them. But let us ask ourselves the question that as the most advanced, evolved and enlightened form of life on this earth dont we have a moral and ethical responsibility towards the lesser creatures that inhabit the world, a natural concern that comes from the heart than out of concern to keep our tribe intact? Man in his self proclaimed superiority has termed animals as savage creatures and defined unruly or violent behaviour as being animal like acts. This reminds us of the saying If man kills tiger, it is sport and if tiger kills man it is bloodthirsty. What is to be remembered in the above equation is that animals kill man only out of self defence when they are threatened by our intrusion into their habitat, the only exception being tigers that get grievously wounded by hunters and are unfortunate to live on as limp creatures, they become too slow and weak to hunt their natural prey and turn man eaters. Man on the other hand kills wild animals simply for sport/adventure and to show off his bravery or sharp shooting skills.
While India is among the richest in its variety of flora and fauna, Indians are abysmal in their knowledge of wildlife, people may argue if it is of any consequence to possess knowledge in this subject and if it is worth the time in a fast paced world. The answer is dont we drool over magazines that carry stories on what colour, food or dress our favourite stars or sports people like or spend hours on plain neighbourhood or workplace gossip on who likes whom and who is scheming against whom. Time and effort spent in acquiring a better knowledge about the planet that we live in and its denizens would be certainly more worthwhile and enriching in comparison to such unproductive and wasteful info gathering. While tales having animals as central characters like the famous Panchatantra and Aesops fables are very much part of childhood fantasy and help imbibe moral values, it is sad that even as adults our knowledge of animals and birds is based on childhood impressions gained from them. So in our view a lion has royal qualities, a peacock is proud, a fox is cunning, elephants and snakes are vindictive and have a long memory, while pigs and buffaloes are stupid, insensitive and dirty. We should remember that animals/birds are driven by instinct and live naturally with no room for such typical human traits. The only exceptions could be the attachment that domestic pets especially dogs have for their masters.
It is an undeniable reality that pressures of feeding and housing an ever increasing population has forced man to bring more areas under inhabitation and cultivation which has brought him into a space conflict with animals and resulted in them being deprived of their natural homes. While this is a serious issue that warrants deep study by experts and an early solution, how do we explain the other major factors like mindless killing in the name of hunting which is considered a sport and poaching for skin, fur or bones that has been a bigger threat to the survival of wild life? It is heartening to note that awareness on wild life preservation and promotion is growing, especially among youth thanks to the efforts of the WWF (world wildlife fund) or Save the Tiger project and efforts by these bodies has resulted in an appreciable increase in the numbers of some endangered species of animals in forests and wild life sanctuaries.
If strong anti-hunting and poaching laws and alert forest guards have helped in checking the dwindling population of the big cats or rhinos, we should also have strong laws to protect domestic animals from cruelty with the Blue Cross actively involved in the same.
Emaciated oxen buckling under highly overloaded carts as they go up the bridges in mid summer heat is still a common sight, their misery helping merchants add a few more hundreds to their already fat wallets. Ultimately it is only true concern and compassion for animals whether in the wild or in our homes and farms that could make their lives better. If you have a pet at home ensure that it is properly fed, water is kept within reach always, and it has room to move about and is given periodic vaccinations and medical care. Do not buy wallets or articles made of fur or snake skin, try to change over to vegetarianism which the world is realizing as a more healthy option.
