Veganacious

Archive for the ‘Animals’ Category

We share an estimated 98.7% of the DNA with our brethren, the chimps and bonobos.  These highly intelligent, sensitive social animals are our closest cousins in the tree of life.  But what a difference that 1.3% makes in respect and viability.  So many chimps end up as inappropriate pets, in the entertainment industry, or in the medical labs. If they are lucky, they might have a few years in a sanctuary, but that is still a confined life and not the one they were designed to live.  Even those who live in the wild have dismal odds of surviving for long without capture or murder. They face diminishing habitat, callous disrespect, and an uncertain future. Because of our choices as humans, so do we.

The Animals Are More Like Us Than We Knew

Declining numbers and habitat are both taking their toll. What is it about that 1.3% of DNA that allows humans the hubris of thinking we are so divine? It is certainly not our capacity for compassion or sensitivity – no sensitive, compassionate creature could wreak the havoc we wreak on one another and on the animals each and every day. Unable to appreciate diversity, we begin to challenge and destroy everything that doesn’t look like us, act like us, or respond like us. In the end, there is nothing left because of our short-sightedness and fear of The Other. Genocide, war, deforestation, animal agriculture, racism, sexism, are all part of this legacy of uniformity. It is deadly.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

A google alert for “overpopulation” apprises me of current news on the topic. Sadly, about 95% of the articles deal with humans complaining about animal overpopulation.  Most of the articles have to do with dogs and cats who end up killed or homeless, but other articles frequently lament the number of deer, or other birds and mammals. We have failed to heed the warning of Native Americans many years ago who asked us to consider living in harmony with all other life forms. In Japan, they consider dolphins “pests” because they depend on sealife, fish, for their existence. We humans do not need to eat fish, but we want them, and therefore have pitted our selfish desires against the very existence of a species who must rely on the fish. We kill and eat the dolphins, which due to our abuse and negligence of the oceans are now inundated with mercury, thereby endanger little Japanese schoolchildren who are given the mercury-laden fare in school lunch programs. (For more information, see this review of The Cove).  And while we are fighting the dolphins for the fish, we are taking so much that the oceans may be completely depleted of sea life in the very near future. Who is overpopulated? Who is destroying the ecosphere? It would seem like it isn’t the animals, it is the deadly spread of humanity.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

As if it is not horrible enough that animals are being slaughtered by the billions, the truth is that we are killing babies.  Most of the slaughtered animals are just youngsters; many should never have been taken from their mothers so early.  Imagine what life must be for a newborn calf, dragged away form a grieving mother and forced into a horrible life without solid food in a tiny crate.  Or a newly hatched, perfectly formed male baby chick, who suddenly finds himself flying through a long frightening tube into a grinder – terror, pain, suffering, death.  All of it is crafted by man for man’s enjoyment and pleasure; it is incredibly cruel and disturbing that the healthy offspring of another species should be treated like trash.  A few people make a lot of money from these ugly enterprises; most people just are unwilling to deal with what their consumer choices cost others in misery and suffering. Some people are unaware and choose to remain unaware.

The Cost for Eggs and Cheese is Borne by Babies of Other Species

The male baby chicks are usually killed when they are only one day old!  If you have ever witnessed a mother hen, you know why that saying developed about the protectiveness of mother hens. Or if you have witnessed the grief struck cows whose babies are dragged away from them, bellowing and cutting themselves on barbed wire – stealing people’s babies so you can steal their mother’s milk is particularly odious.  But most people participate because it is so habitual that it seems normal – NORMAL! Nothing about stealing babies from their mothers and murdering them is normal. It is completely unnatural. When I see someone eating cheese or drinking milk, I mentally get an image of an adult human suckling on the cow’s teats – hardly a normal thing to do.

All those pigs and cows are usually slaughtered when only a few months old.  They are the human equivalent of toddlers. A few dairy cows may live into the animal equivalent of young teens, but then with abnormally enlarged and engorged milk sacs, often filled with pus. I have been a nursing mother and I wince when I see the distortions and know the discomfort that practice must cause those young beings that are cows. None of what the cow is capable of, none of what would give joy or seem natural, none of that is allowed. They are solely commodities on legs for an unhealthy and callous world.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Out for a stroll

My older sister and her family were never much for animals.  In fact, when her daughter’s bird died, her comment was, “oh, good, I do not have to feed it any more.”  To make matters worse, her husband is highly allergic to animal fur and dander.  I never thought the day would come when my sister would have an awakening, but the animals of the world had much in store for her. I know she has fallen in love with at least five creatures, loved and cherished them each.  They all found her, too, when she wasn’t looking. Critter, Ed and Buddy all have their own stories, dogs who found a home under impossible circumstances – but their stories are for another day. Animals can do that to you, sneak up to your well-protected heart and climb right in, even when there is a “No Vacancy” sign clearly displayed there. Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

One evening as a newlywed, my  husband called me from work and said that he was bringing home a rescued puppy.  This puppy, said he, was very sweet and had been treated abysmally. He had heard that the rescuer was searching for a home and of course he could not turn the pup away.  So I prepared a little box for the pup, stuffed it with comfy old blankets, and awaited the inclusion of our new family member.  It was a long evening until the pup arrived, and I finally gave up and went to bed.

Slurp! I got a lick from a giant tongue on my face as I was quickly awakened by a monstrous-sized dog. Some pup! This was a half-husky, half shepherd mix that was one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen.  Despite his enormous size and paws, he was a very gentle young dog.  However, the little box appeared ludicrous compared to his enormity, and I knew I had been hoodwinked. But it worked.

Pete had a golden color and longer hair than a shepherd, more like a collie but solid golden.  The fur near his chest was proud and bold, and his ears were upright and attentive. If ever there existed a dog who was loving and appreciative, but filled with spirit, it was Pete. The picture that most captures the younger me in a happy, relaxed state is one with Pete. He brought happiness along with those enormous paws.

Another late evening (I was catching on by now), I received another call from my husband relating that he had found another little critter for me to adopt.  This one was a newborn kitten, and by newborn, I mean newborn as in left wet without the umbilical cord being cut.  My husband stumbled across him while working as a night watchman (he was a student at the time). He did not believe the poor little thing had any chance at all for survival, so he threw him in the water by the dock. To his amazement, the kitten started swimming.  Still believing that the kitty could not make it, he got a mop and held him under, thinking he was sparing him a slower death.  But the kitten bobbed up and started swimming again, so he scooped him up and brought him home, complete with instructions that the kitty needed to be fed every hour round the clock. He said if that kitty wanted to live that badly, he was going to give him the chance.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

For our November trip to Serenity Springs Animal Sanctuary, a couple of new critters had come and a couple had gone on to their final resting place. Our task was to build a chicken coop for the birds, so they can be kept safe at night from the predators that come around after dark.  The design was simple, with a walkway for Terry, the director of the sanctuary, to gain access to feed the birds and check on them. They will be free to run and peck around the property during the day, and will be safely inside their coop after hours.  According to the latest census, Serenity Springs now has: 90 pigs, 11 cats, 6 horses, 3 mini horses, 4 donkeys, 7 dogs, 1 goat and 2 steer.  Oh, and one human, Terry DeGaw, who keeps the whole thing operational.  She maintains an “open door” policy, so feel free to stop by for a visit.

One of the new residents is a cute but somewhat shy little gray and white pig; adorable, but still a little people-leary.  And a new dog arrived, too, a part border collie with the whitest white and blackest black shiny coat, Josie Mae. She couldn’t get enough attention and was content to follow the visitors around the property as they worked. Like many of the dumped or abandoned animals Terry rescues, she was in bad shape when she was discovered, but you would never know it to see her today, with her healthy, happy demeanor.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark It

Hide Sites