Mili Desai
www.mediaeyenews.com
Despite increased awareness among humans about animal rights, cruelty to animals persists across the city. Each day there are countless number of animals that suffer and die in the hands of humans. Physical violence, emotional abuse and life-threatening neglect are daily realities for many animals. Millions of animals are killed every day for reasons like feeding the non-vegetarian population or in laboratories for medical experiments. Cruelty against animals is a cognizable offense under Section 428 and Section 429 of the Indian penal code.
Animals have the same right to live as humans, the only difference is they are muted mammals who cannot speak up for their rights. We should look at animals as fellow beings on earth and start treating them with equal respect. There is an urgent need to start nurturing the seed of kindness, love and respect for animals in children and implement strict laws on cruelty against animals. We need to bring such changes to society.
“Anyone who has accustomed himself to regard the life of any living creature as worthless is in danger of arriving also at the idea of worthless human lives.”
– Dr Albert Schweitzer, humanitarian
Animals are treated as mere commodities, crammed together with little space, natural light, or stimuli, physically and mentally abused and harmed in so many other ways possible. We come across so many cases that show ill-treatment towards the street animals specifically street dogs that are so harsh that one needs a trigger warning before reading about it. All these activities show human nature. Organizations such as the SPCA and PETA, which are working for animal rights, can achieve a lot if they receive help from local organizations and the public in general. One should speak up for the animals and show some kindness in by helping them in any possible manner.
