Accidental Unintentional Cruelty
“In the UK, it can be easier to get approval to keep a Mountain Lion than extract a dog or cat from a rescue home”
Animal Abusers
At one extreme, the negative end, are the direct animal abusers, humans with no compassion for other species who are prepared to inflict anything on an animal in order to make money or fulfil self-interest. I wouldn’t waste resources trying to stimulate a change in these people, instead we need to change the world around them, so that their cruelty is no longer possible. Instead, this behaviour needs to be exposed, called out and have negative consequences for them. They need to be impacted where it hurts, and in the pocket, so it is in their self-interest to stop.
The Permitters
Which leaves the majority of humans in-between the direct animal abusers and the animal guardians. This is where the real focus is needed. Through either indifference, lack of thought, lack of information or understanding, people in this group are often unwittingly the accidental unintentional supporters of cruelty. Making it permissible and profitable for the animal abusers to carry on harming and profiting from it.
Let’s take the man who parades a clothed chimpanzee on a lead in full sun on hot pavements for tourist pictures (having removed the chimp’s teeth to make him safer to handle). this man is being directly cruel to the chimp. this direct cruelty is being permitted and promoted by every single tourist that pays to have their one picture taken with the chimp. pictures that are probably rarely looked at again, as the chimp continues to live out this tortuous life. The tourist is complicit in the act of cruelty.
Instead, what if every tourist scowled at the man with the chimp, refused to have their picture taken, told him to stop it and objected to the local authorities and tourist boards. Would he continue?
There are multiple examples, like this Chimp, where the Permitters support, get involved or accept something involving an animal, without questioning or challenging the rights and impact on the animal involved. If Permitters were informed and the abuse and impact on the animals made transparent then there is a fighting chance of the right positive progress at the right pace.
So please question, challenge, ask for information, be a guardian to the animals you meet, do not assume all is okay, satisfy yourself before getting engaged.
