1000 Flowers for the Planet - #145 Allow Animals to be Animals

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #145 Allow Animals to be Animals

Allow animals to be animals – not pets, not exploited property, not toys, not sexual aids – leave them to be wild creatures. Our collective attitude towards the animal kingdom has reached a questionable level. Why do some people think it’s okay to keep a panther, a crocodile, a monkey, or an armadillo for a pet? Animals need to live in their natural environment. Putting them into cages is inappropriate – even zoos have recongised that cages are not conducive to the well-being of an animal. Neither should they be taken from their natural climate and kept in opposing conditions e.g. a polar bear in the tropics.

Dogs and cats have been domesticated pets for years, but take a look at what the human race has done to them over the centuries with inbreeding that has completely changed them from their original makeup. We have cats with pushed in faces, flattened ears, spotted like leopards or purposely bred to be miniature. We have dogs with long backs and short legs, pushed in faces, bulging eyes, a huge range of sizes and specific temperaments for various ‘jobs’. Humans have created this variety and given them all different names such as Poodle, Labrador, Kelpie and Great Dane. Now another wave of created creatures is being produced with Labradoodles, Schnoodle and Cava-poo-chon. Often there are health issues for these poor creatures. Where does it end?

Cats and dogs have been our companions for millennia and will continue to be so, but let’s allow them to behave appropriate to their species. Understand the nature of your cat or dog, that they need exercise, fresh air, and food that closely resembles what they would eat if they lived in the wild (not chocolate cake with cream). They are also not toys, to be played with like they are little dolls to be dressed up, or carried around in handbags as an accessory. They do not exist for the pleasure of the wealthy, to buy only because they can afford it and wish to show off. Animals should not be exploited property, used for profit by being forced into unnatural behaviours. They should not be tortured for sexual pleasure (please don’t ask me to go into any detail on that point) or used as experiments in the backyard by bored teenagers.

None of this honours the beautiful creatures with which we share this planet. Allow them to remain in the wild where they can behave naturally and live as they were intended to live. Respect them, give them space and learn to enjoy them as they are, not for what they can give us, because they don’t owe us a thing.