We are always told that the Circle of Life exists and that all living creatures are part of it; forming the unending circle. We are also told that we are all Earthlings and that we should treat each living creature as part of our own. But what, or who, is it that is responsible for the separation of species. Usually the most obvious answer is Man. But, as I read the passages from the Jungle Book, especially in Mowgli’s Brothers, it became apparent that it is not just Man that decides to create the distance between species. In Mowgli’s Brothers, it is Shere Khan, followed by Bagheera (although for a different reason), who makes the distinction between human and animal. It is Shere Khan that created the segregation of man and human in this case. Mowgli simply wanted to stay with the only family he knew, but was betrayed by several of them who were brainwashed by Shere Khan. “A man! A man! What has a man to do with us? Let him go his own place.” “ No man’s cub can run with the people of the jungle.” (873)
Bageerha’s distinction is that he was born into man’s world, but decided to unleash the wild in him instead of being tamed. He did not enjoy his life “being fed behind bars from an iron pan.” (870) When he grew tired of man’s dealings with animals as “pets,” he freed himself from his lock with his mighty strength and left for his true home, one that he had never seen. His true instincts came to life within him and he acted upon them. Just as he is able to recognize that Mowgli’s human instincts are about to rise up in him. He tells Mowlgi that it is necessary to follow these instincts, as they are natural. But Mowlgi is smart enough to remember his years as a wolf and the love he gave and received from his Pack and family. “Because I was all but your brother in blood, I promise that when I am a man among men I will not betray ye to men as ye have betrayed me. There is no war between any of us and the Pack.” (874)
The last distinction of segregation is that of hope. It is a well-known fact that humans are the cause of animal betrayal, segregation, and death. For any animal to stand up to a human is a great feat. If humans and animals are to live together as one entity on this planet and take care of each other, why do we cause them so much pain. It is ridiculous what we do, especially in front of their eyes as they are waiting for the same fate. But, hope is always the best thing anyone or anything can ask for. And for one to finally stand up and fulfill the dream is everything in the world, especially when more than one species can live in harmony together. “There was a story on the beaches that someday white seal would come out of the north and lead the seal people to a quiet place.” “I am the only white seal that has ever been born on the beaches, and I am the only seal, black or white, who ever thought of looking for new islands.” (883)
Of all the stories that are told from an animal’s point of view, I believe none are equal to that of Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty. While most stories are told from the animal’s mouth and/or thoughts, it is usually still through the eyes and minds of the human that the animal’s thought are composed of. Animals have some but not all understanding of human ways and we tend to perceive to others humans that they do. Looking back at most of the stories or movies you see, the animal is almost always concerned about what the situation is and how it is going to affect their future; an human characteristic. Animals hardly ever discuss how they feel or how they are treated in these stories.
Until Anna Sewell was smart enough to write about it in her book, Black Beauty. She gave a voice to the horses; a voice that only a certain type of people, who are few in this world, can hear. She told what the horses are really thinking, instead of what humans would like to think the horses are thinking.
While it is true that we breed and use animals for labor, no human ever really thinks about how it is for the animals that do the labor. Oxen pull heavy plows, cows are used for milk and cheese, and dogs herd sheep and goats. But humans are unaware of the fact that these animals are also living beings that have dreams and feelings of their own. If the Ox is too tired from the previous day’s work to pull the plow today, humans scold and beat him until he does the work.
Humans fail to recognize that we put animals through hell to get a job done for us, instead of us caring for them as they are part of our care in this world. We do not listen to the needs of our animals as often as we should and we should listen more carefully to what they are saying instead of what we think they are saying. Once we are able to do this can the communication between man and animal only strengthen. The best possible way to listen to our animals is by living in their shoes – or hooves, as it may be. By knowing what life is like for them throughout all conditions and experiences in life can we fully understand their train of thought.
Anna Sewell did just that. By giving a voice to horses, humans have the potential to fully understand what we put animals through to provide for our own pleasures. Her means of communication of these pains to the rest of the human world have succeeded in humans gaining knowledge. Once we can understand what we put these animals through, we can then provide a better life for them and make the human and animal bond even stronger and more pleasant all over. “My ladies have promised that I shall never be sold, and so I have nothing to fear; and here my story ends. My troubles are over, and I am at home.” (Ch 49). This is the perfect ending of any story for an animal. It is so nice to hear it from the horse’s mouth that such a relationship is possible. Humans should strive for this type of companionship and love by simply listening to our animals.
The second part of Anne Sewell’s story “Black Beauty” is focused on the pain horses go through due to human ignorance. As a result of this, he begins to resent humans for their idiot ways of only thinking of their pleasures and not of how they are causing pain to the animals they use as a vehicle to achieve these pleasures.
The class is going to experientially learn to heighten their senses to recognize other emotions in others by means other than speech. This can be by physical data, literature, drawing, or (my favorite) acting and performing.
We are going to play my revised of the game CRANIUM.
There are four color categories in CRANIUM: Creative Cat (blue), Word Worm (yellow), Data Head (red), and Star Performer (green).
The class will be split into two teams and a dice will be rolled to see what color that team must do.
Each category has several ways in which to communicate. On each term, one person from each team will be the “performer” and must try to get their team to guess the answer.
There will be a timer and Professor Bump will be the judge on some of these.
There will be a game board and whichever team gets to the end first is the winner. On the board there is a long path and a short path, due to time we will be using the short path.
Also, in the Star Performer there is a way of communication by humming. Unfortunately the acoustics in the room are very bad so we will have to sing. (Sorry everybody!)
I will take questions from the reading and from everyone’s blogposts.
Now that we have learned to be able to recognize what someone is trying to say, hopefully we are able to transfer this ability to animals as well.
There is a common saying that goes “Ignorance is bliss.” The meaning of this saying is that what you don’t know doesn’t hurt you. People would rather stay in a state of ignorance than face the truth. Instead of dealing with the consequences of their deliberate actions, they prefer to pretend to be surprised and complain about how they were put out. But who is the one that is really put out? People tend to be selfish and think of themselves in such an instance as a replacement for showing compassion for the one that was harmed as a result of their actions. As a result of people being dense like this, resentment settles into the individual that is harmed; changing them forever.
As Black Beauty is taken to his new homes, we begin to hear a change of tone in his voice from happiness to sorrow and finally to resentment. This resentment is not because of the lack of care from humans, but because of the lack of knowledge humans have regarding animals. In that time, most humans believed horses to be transportation, fashion accessories, or adrenaline rush vehicles, and were thought of and treated as equipment and possessions in preference to living beings that feel pain. Due to these conditions and not having the ability to express themselves through language, the horses tolerated the treatment and lived with the pain. The longer such a life is endured, the more hate builds up in the mind of the horse of how brainless people are.
This hatred can be a result of several things: not being able to communicate, improper stabling, unkempt living quarters, missing dietary necessities, and so much more. However, most of the trouble seems to lie with the laziness of the human. Most humans will do just about anything to avoid having to do work or do what is right, including harming others. “These people never think to walk up a steep hill. Oh, no, they have paid to ride, and ride they will! The horse? Oh, he’s used to it! What were horses made for, if not to drag people uphill? Walk! A good joke indeed!” (Ch 29) Laziness is not only physical, but mental as well. Mental laziness is also one of the most dangerous situations we can put horses in. This laziness can be not recognizing the signs of pain, not learning the limitations of physical labor, and not learning the tolerability of an animal’s pain level and patience. “He drew my head back and fixed the rein so tight it was intolerable; then he went to Ginger, who was impatiently jerking her head up and down against the bit, as was her way now…she took her opportunity and reared up so suddenly…and went on plunging, rearing, and kicking in the most desperate manner…” (Ch 23)
Due to ignorance of any type, it is ultimately the horses, and all animals, that suffer. No matter what species you are, if you know that another species causes you direct pain, whether intentional or not, you tend to despise them over time. Most humans are focused on themselves and their superfluous wants and need than to realizing that horses are not tools for getting these wants and needs.
The scariest part about resentment is that you get used to pain. So far, for me, the scariest part of this story was when Beauty talked about suffering the pain. Horses, and all animals for that fact, feel pain. To think they do not is idiotic. How they suffer has to intolerable to them as they are unable to communicate in language to humans AND humans are too dumb to look for the signs. But we put animals through so much pain, they are used to it! “I could have groaned too, for I was suffering intense pain both from my foot and knees; but horses are used to bear their pain in silence.” (Ch 25) This is horrific. To be the cause of such a ritualistic pain is unbearable and we humans need to rethink the way we treat animals and what we put them through for our pleasure.
If it is true that ignorance is bliss, we cannot afford to be ignorant any longer. To know to be the cause of any pain whatsoever to an animal is unacceptable, but humans do it on a routine basis as animals suffer every day from abuse of work, fashion, or just plain malice. We humans need to straighten up, stop being lazy, get smarter, be more alert and respectful to the pains that we put animals through. Once we have done this we can stop blaming the animals for being “unruly” and start taking responsibilities head on and put a stop to the pain of unnecessary pleasures. While they do help us work, we need to realize that they feel pain and tiredness just as we do. We need to learn to understand their limitations and respect them instead of using them as vehicles to get our ridiculous pleasures. This way they can learn to respect us again and let go of their resentment toward humans as a whole.
The world is composed of relationships. These are interactions with each other of the same species, and interactions with other species. These relationships include what species are able to do for each other. The bees pollinate flowers, dogs are not only companions for man but also obey commands that help in many ways, and so many more. For hundreds of years, man has been using animals for work, and in return we give them shelter from the weather, food for their stomachs, and the care and love they deserve.
If the relationship fails, it is only due to neglect and disrespect on the human part. The human trains the animals, particularly horses, to do work for them. In return, humans are to feed them, give them shelter from the weather and, above all, respect the horses by treating them with kindness and compassion. If the human does not possess these qualities within them, the result could be an “unruly” horse. Some humans do have these qualities. These are the people the horses are willing to work for, because they know in return they will receive a good life with caring masters. However, there are more people who do not possess these qualities. These people horses are unwilling to work for and, unfortunately, end up being hurt and abused, and eventually strike back.
Ginger is the perfect example if such abuse. Her bringing up was not a pleasant as Black Beauty’s and she lets it be known as her humans did not treat her correctly from the beginning. Children threw rocks at her and her first coachman beat her after several training periods with no rest. “A bad tempered man will never make a good-tempered horse.” (ChVII) After such an affair, who could blame Ginger for biting and kicking? Once abused, it is hard for any animal to trust any human again, hence why Ginger also bit James in the beginning. But once she was able to understand John, James, and Squire Gordon and saw their compassion, she was able to be friendly to them as well as the other horses in the stable.
These unqualified individuals that deal with working horses and training them, obviously, have no business doing it; they lack the human touch of compassion. They would tell you that having compassion is a flaw and that it is the wrong type of training for a horse as they are only “Horseflesh! That is all they think about.” (Ch VII)
It is not a crime to have compassion. Actually it is a crime to LACK compassion!! Especially for animals! These inhumane people are criminals and should be treated as such; thrown in jail and sentenced to the same treatment that they had provided to their horses. “We heard afterwards that he [Joe] had given his evidence so clearly, and the horses were in such as exhausted state, bearing marks of such brutal usage, that the carter was committed to take his trial, and might possibly be sentenced to two or three months in prison.” (Ch XX)
Those people will also tell you that you cannot learn kindness; it is a required part of the man that is able to do the training and the working. This is both true and false. It is true in the sense that certain people cannot learn kindness. It is a part of you when you are born and, it seems for boys, awakened later in life. It is false in the fact that while you may mean well, young people are also ignorant. They may think they are helping but only cause more trouble and end up hurting the horse. As was the case with Joe after John and Black Beauty went to get the doctor. Young people need to learn the correct care of animals. Only then can their kindness be rewarded fully. “Only ignorance! Only ignorance! How can you talk about only ignorance? Don’t you know that it is the worst thing in the world, next to wickedness? – and which does the most mischief heaven only knows?” (Ch XIX)
So it is possible for man to be kind to their horses. Those who aren’t are ignorant fools and need to be taught by way of retribution. Otherwise, it is important that humans keep the relationship pain free as much as possible. Only when we can respect them can they respect us in return.
The definition of realm is “an area of responsibility or rule.”[1] This word is a great representation in the field of Animal Humanities if Homo sapiens consider planet Earth their home; therefore, it is the duty of the Homo sapiens species to take care of and protect all other life forms on this planet. Since Earth is home to humans, this responsibility is a necessity and should be upheld to the highest degree as humans are the prominent cause of all troubles relating to animals. Pain is a universal language; it is understood by all life forms. For the Homo sapiens to believe that animals do not speak this language and ignore their responsibility is a violation of life. Such speciesism is what lead to the dilemma facing animals, historically and even more so presently.
1 A video on Youtube.com about animal abuse and a list of responsibilities that humans should have at all times.[i]
When one thinks of caring for animals, they automatically think of the tactics used for the prevention of pain and suffering: the distribution of information to the ignorant public, the protesting of animal cruelty and the lobbying for the passing of laws that prevent malice in all forms and promote animal rights. Awareness in the prevention of animal cruelty is enormous, and by all means, should continue to grow. While I am an advocate of these tactics, I am most passionate about the care and well-being of the animals after such horrendous acts of brutality have been inflicted upon them. The awareness of this aspect of animal humanities is nowhere near what it should be. I believe that it should be just as big as prevention, if not bigger. After such traumatic events, the physical and psychological damages are hard to overcome and can last a lifetime. These injuries are less publicized because most humans do not want the responsibility of dealing with them. This is a growing problem throughout the world and something must be done.
After an animal is rescued from abusive living conditions, immediate veterinary care is the priority for the physical damages. However, most animals coming from these situations have trouble trusting humans making it difficult for the doctor to help them and monitor their progress. If an animal does recover, they have trouble trusting humans who resemble their abusers and could possibly attack out of retaliation or have behavioral issues or anxiety. These types of troubles are a form of aversion psychology – drawing away or dislike.
It is hard enough dealing with humans that have emotional problems, but animals who cannot speak? Humans just need to have the patience to learn their language and listen to what they are telling us. There are a select few people that have accomplished this who are known as certified Behavioral Specialists and they “specialize in animal behaviors such as aggression, depression, or dementia.”[2] “[s.i.c.]Effective applied animal behaviorists will have expertise in (a) behavior modification, so they know the techniques that produce changes in behavior, (b) the normal behavior of the species they’re treating so they can recognize how and why your pet’s behavior is abnormal, and (c) teaching and counselling people, so they can effectively teach you how to understand and work with your pet.” [3] Hopefully, with the right rehabilitation, the animal’s trust can be restored and behavioral issues can be rectified. However a loving family is just the right medication an animal needs to fully heel from these trust and behavioral issues.
2Oreo was thrown off a roof by her previous owner. “Though she survived the traumatic fall that broke her two front legs and more and was physically recovering, she was killed yesterday by the ASPCA, which insisted that she was too aggressive to be adopted. The ASPCA told reporters that as she began healing from her injuries, she simultaneously began showing aggression — “growling, lunging and trying to bite people who came too close.” [4][ii]
There are several causes why post-trauma care is less publicized. First, societies and groups for animal humanities are more focused on the prevention of cruelty and advertising the immediate effects of it; moreover, to remove the animals from the cause of the cruelty. The ASPCA (America Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) commercials and most of its website along with P.E.T.A’s (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) website, which has a list of what companies do not test on animals, are proof of this.
Secondly, society is fickle; the public only cares about what is happening at the current moment. Once the affair is over, people are only interested in the outcome. The public has to be told of what is happening instead of searching for the information themselves. Only then do they take a stand. But usually this stand does not last long as people are not interested in the after process; unless you’re a celebrity.
This brings me to my third point. Society responds to celebrities and what they think, feel, do, and advertise for. Therefore, it is important that we carefully choose who we consider celebrities. The high-quality celebrities use their status to make people aware of animal abuse and mistreatment. Dan Aykroyd and Sarah Mclachlin were both involved with ASPCA commercials.[5] Actor Joaquin Pheonix not only narrated the documentary Earthings, but made a video for P.E.T.A. entitled Cold-Blooded Horrors which centers on exotic skins and furs used in the fashion industry.[6]
While all of these reasons are wonderful in advertising for the prevention of animal cruelty, there do not appear to be any advertisements for after care or showing the later repercussions for these survivors. After some research, it appears there are no celebrities advocating for this. It appears the closest a celebrity has come to do this is Heroes star Hayden Panettiere. Hayden went to Tajii, Japan to fight against the yearly dolphin slaughter and inform people in the United States of her efforts, and that the Japanese government was feeding the dolphin meat, which is very high in mercury, to the public under the false pretense of other exotic whale meat.[7] But again, this was more of the preventative nature. So with no advertisements for post-trauma conditions, the public is uninformed and ignorant. But society does respond to literature and movies that celebrities appear in. This leads to my next topic.
It is a wonder why a film like Earthlings, as powerful as it is, is not as well known as other documentaries such as Supersize Me. While it was in a format that was easy to follow and showed accurate information, it was not a “blockbuster” that people would flood theaters to see, such as 2010’s Alice in Wonderland and How to Train Your Dragon, because it would not interest the public as a whole. It must be put into terms that the dense public can understand: entertainment.
4 The most popular movie genre as determined by weekend gross for 2009.[iv]
My long term idea is to make a movie. Some may think that this is more of a short term goal; however, for my schedule and budget, it would have fall into the long term category. Also, if my acting career takes off and we, the production company, are able to make more than one movie of this kind, the more information is distributed. It seems that audiences are starting to be more entertained by genres such as “Thrillers” and “Action Conspiracy.” With this in mind, the plot for this movie would be focused on the change of hierarchy of the food chain and speciesism. It is a typical story of the oppressed versus the oppressor, only the humans are now the ones being overthrown and repressed by a new species of the planet. Only a few of these other new species (now named “Others”) is sympathetic to the human race, which is physically and mentally suffering from the long era of abuse. Through a series of action adventures and dramatic conspiracy dialogue, one of the humans is able to confront their King to learn how and why such events have happened. The human learns that the Others took notice of our existence and used the same manner of exploits as we did to animals to overthrow humans. Then, the King asks the human “How, in any way, have we treated you any different than you have treated animals?” This should cause some thought within the audience as a compilation of images of slaughterhouses and animal abuse are played. Throughout the entire movie, the human’s appearance changes slowly to be more animal-like. The Other’s form also slowly changes into more human. This is so that at the climax between the King and the human, there is a distinction that the now human-like Other is the cause of pain to the animal-like human; making the connection that the original human is the cause of pain for animals. Of course, there has to be a happy ending…or does there? Not if we do not change our ways. Given the proper advertisement, I believe this would be a movie that people would like to see and leave reflecting over; but of course it would have to be advertised as an action/adventure/conspiracy.
This would allow actors and actresses to put their craft to use for the purpose other than advertising against animal cruelty, but rather as a way to help prevent the abuse altogether. Portraying a life form that suffers at the hand of another will, hopefully, make them think about the way they treat animals for their fashion and products. While describing how they prepare and perform these roles in interviews, this should be able to give the audience who listens the same understanding.
Meanwhile, since I am currently a broke college student, I will keep trying to heal those that are already injured to the best of my ability by either rejoining the animal hospital I previously worked with before I came to school full-time or by obtaining a job with a rescue group in the local area. In the meantime, I recently became aware of the student pre-veterinary society and am looking into joining the Students Against the Cruelty of Animals society, both here at UT.
If I am ever able to make this movie or make a difference in preventing any kind of animal abuse, I just hope that I am able to inspire someone else to do the same. But in order to do this, people need information in its entirety. With more distribution and exposure to such information, only then can we humans take charge of our responsibility in the realm of animal humanities and make it pure again.
[1] Dictionary.com. Thesaurus.com. 2010. http://thesaurus.com/browse/realm (accessed March 27, 2010).
[2] Marinelli, Deborah A. “Careers in Animal Care and Veterinary Science.” In Careers in Animal Care and Veterinary Science, by Deborah A. Marinelli, 24. New York: The Rosen Publishing Company, Inc., 2001.
[3] American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. ASPCA Behavior: Finding Professional Help. 2010. http://www.aspcabehavior.org/articles/32/Finding-Professional-Help.aspx (accessed March 27, 2010).
[4]Ernst, Stephanie. On Oreo, Mabel, and Killing Abused Animals. November 14, 2009. http://animals.change.org/blog?category_id=living_with_aniamls&page=2 (accessed April 15, 2010).
[5] American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Aminals. About Us: ASPCA Commercials. 2010.http://www.aspca.org/about-us/aspca-commercials.html (accessed March 27, 2010).
[6] People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. User Action: Joaquin Pheonix Reveals Cold-Blooded Horrors. 2010. https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3003 (accessed March 27, 2010).
[7]The Cove. Directed by Louie Psihoyos. Performed by Ric O’Barry. 2009.
All religions have the same basic principle: do not kill others. However, it the Eastern religions that fully encompass this to include other lifeforms as well, instead of just humans. And why should it not include other life forms? They were on this planet before humans were. Is the only difference between animals and humans that humans believe in a form of religion? If that is true, then why do humans think that it is ok to use animals as sacrifices to please the gods of these religions? To me it seems hypocritical to tell your followers to not kill, but then to demand a sacrifice in your name in order for your followers to prove their devotion to you. I believe that all religions are right in their own way, however, since all have the basic principle of not killing a living being, then why is it that most of these religions do not follow these principles when it comes to animals?
Figure 1 – Animal sacrificing dated back to the Grecian cultures.
The Eastern cultures of the world have the right idea of including all life forms into this principle. We, as a western culture, need to believe in this ideal as well, but also on a much more intricate level. Indeed, there are many things we could learn from the Eastern cultures. Such as that humans are not above anyone or anything in this world. All life forms are equal. This also means that we need to focus more of our attention in religion into the principle of helping others more than saving ourselves. Once when we can conceive this idea and follow it to its core, only then will one be a pure heart and their soul and mind truly be one with their respective religion. “Some people think that divine-human relations are considered more important than the relationship between humans and the natural world. This may be true for those who have not experienced a ‘oneness’ with all other souls, a connection of totality.” (825)
I agree with the Neo-Confucian Manefesto that there are several things that we Westerners need to learn from the Easterners. The most important one is to accept the whole world as one family. We currently have all different kinds of family; from blood relatives to very close friends to including pets. But this seems to be the extent of it as we do not welcome outside visitors. “Christian love come with a proviso, namely that ‘you accept my religion.’”(834) The only way that the world, with all its nations, cultures, people and life forms can live together in harmony is for the world to adopt the Confucian views that “human nature is good and that man can achieve sagehood and thence harmony in virtue with Heaven by his own efforts.” (834). Once we can achieve this “oneness” of the planet as a whole can we live once again in the great Circle of Life.
Figure 2The Circle of Life is the most important connection we can make with every living life form. It is here that all entities have respect for each other.
The best possible way for this to happen is to adopt the concept of Ahisma. This concept of cosmic love and non-injury is crucial to the integral pieces of the puzzle of life. All pieces can only fit together in the atmosphere of love and caring. Man is obviously the key to set the atmosphere for these pieces to fit together. So man had to be able to overcome hisma, the opposite of ahisma. Hisma is violence and injury, and humans work very well at this trait. The main horrifying act that man acts upon with hisma, whether intentional or not, is the failure to “relive another’s pain, or even to neglect ti go to the person in distress.” (816) If everyone could only get the courage to stand up for the oppressed and lend a helping hand, the circle could be complete and the world at peace and love.
Imagine coming into this world only to be told that you would do harm and cause pain to living being that share this planet along with you. How would one take this information? “And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hands they are delivered.” (809) A child, bred up in the abhorrence of killing and tormenting any living creature”, would be terrified to know of this information and , at such a young age, would do everything within their power to do against what prophecy has told them. “803) Another person of another age would feel bad for the pain they would cause to the other living beings, but the care would only go so far as humans have proven to ourselves that we are above animals. Although it has been shown that animals and humans are “’similar in principle’ and in many cases ‘identical, organ for organ,’” emotionally we are vastly distant. (802)
Since the beginning, animal and man have been integral pieces of the puzzle that collectively piece together existence on this planet; physically and emotionally. We were able to understand each other on a more intimate level. But the invention of language is the only reason that humans have devoted themselves to being dominate over animals. Presumably, this is due to the realization that “Man becomes aware of himself returning the look.” (795) Language, as humans believe, is the only way to communicate, and therefore, since animals cannot speak, they are lesser species than us. For this reason, we have used animals have our laborers and food instead of our companions. “But always its lack of common language its silence, guarantees its distance, its distinctness, its exclusion, from and of man.” (796)
Animals are so much more than food, clothing, and entertainment to us. They were even our source of power at one time. “Animals first entered the imagination as messengers and promises.” (795) Why has any of this changed due only to the invention of language? Because humans are ignorant idiots. We presumed at this point that since animals do not speak our language they cannot think, feel or comprehend anything. “What distinguishes man from animals was the human capacity for symbolic thought, the capacity which was inseparable from the development of language in which words were not mere symbols, but signifiers of something other than itself.” (797)
While in the 18th century, people have finally noticed how horrible animals are being treated. However, it was only the “educated” that noticed this and somewhat made an attempt to educate others. However, such an attempt was feeble as it only “swelled the glory” of using animals as pets to “serve mainly as toys or badges of rank” or to project the image that one is kind to animals.(801) “other believed in kind treatment of animals, but hardly cared about it.” (807)
Animals deserve so much better lives than what we humans provide. But since humans are the virus that infected this planet, all animals must suffer. Why look at animal? Because they were here first, because they deserve to not suffer due to human stupidity, because when all else fails they are still our devoted, unconditional companions. I am so glad they are, as humans are horrible creatures that intentionally cause pain and suffering, not only to animals but to others of their own species. I can’t even begin to count the number of times I would fight with my husband only to have my three cats come to me to show affection that they were there for me no matter what. Several homeless people on the streets have canine companions when human friends and family have denied them.
We have done terrible things to animals and we need to do what we can to better ourselves in their eyes. Instead of hurting, we need to be healing, stand up to the responsibility and take care of those that are already hurt and better prevent those that will be. Who cares about “rank and degree being under attack in the political order.” (807) We need to do our part and do it better. The pieces of the puzzle have become distorted over time and no longer fit together. In order for animals and humans to coincide peacefully again, we need to repair the pieces. Only then can our hands that they were delivered in no longer be the hands of fear. I believe they can once again be hands of harmony and companionship.
The speciest view is that animals don’t feel pain; or if they do, they don’t have the ability to express this pain because they lack the mental capacity to be able to speak. This is due to the “fact” that they are of a lower grade of species than Homo sapiens are. And since they are unable to learn to speak, we, therefore, are unaware of their pain. So, obviously, it is the animal’s fault that humans cause them pain because they are not intelligent enough to speak to us and tell us that abuse hurts.
The Speciests view: the smaller the brain, the dumber the animal. All animal’s brains are smaller than Humans, so all animals are dumb.[1]
In reality, it is a very well known and documented fact that animals feel pain, and that they do express it. The problem is that some humans are so dense that they cannot understand that when an animal is harmed, it does not cry out in glee to please its punisher; it cries out in pain. Pain is a universal language; one that all species on this planet understand. What is it that makes one species able to say that another doesn’t speak it? This type of speciesism lead to the dim-witted thinking that humans are the only species that do.
It is not a matter of whether or not animals can speak at all. Evidently they can, but the solution is that we humans lack the mental capacity to understand their version of language. Animals are actually smarter than humans since they are able, and apparently have the brain capacity, to learn how to communicate with humans, verbally or non-verbally. “Nonhuman animals like Alex,Washoe, KoKo, and Kanzi have learned to use to languages devised by humans.” (790) If animals are smart enough to learn our language, why can we not learn theirs? “How should humans be if expected to learn another species’ language, say that of a bottle nose dolphin? Even if other species did lack the capacity for some typically human type of language and reasoning, why should this be the criterion for superiority?” (790)
1This African Grey has the mental capacity to talk to her human.[2]
It is only superiority because humans are the only ones who understand human languages. Every species has their own form of communication, as heard recently in class. Who is to say that to them their language is not the superior language? Obviously animals can learn other forms of languages as they respond to our attention getters and commands. “The said question of the said animal in its entirety comes down to knowing not whether the animal speaks but whether one can know what responds means.” (715) When I call my cat’s name she responds; that is if she chooses too. Also she can tell the difference when I talk to her, for example, when she is in trouble for knocking over a glass of milk onto the carpet, or when I am wanting love from her.
Not only can animals learn and understand our language, but they speak to each other as well. Animals communicate to each other through their own universal language that we humans, again, do not have the brain capacity to understand. Given the history of abuse and using animals as laborers, what would animals say about humans? We compare animals and their, mostly untrue, characteristics to other humans that we disapprove of. “But why should calling a woman a ‘bitch’ impute malice and selfishness? Given that most dogs are loving and eager to please, the metaphor’s sharp content seems puzzling.” (787) Really, this is more of an insult to animals than it is to humans. If animals understand this part of human language, I can only imagine what they are saying to each other, or calling each other angrily, about humans.
The new solution is now that we humans need to sharpen our minds and expand our mental capacity to understand the language of animals. Only then are we Earthlings able to live together in harmony with complete and utter understanding. Animals are definitely smarter than humans. To put a new twist on an old pun: It’s not the size that matters, but the motion of the ocean. The volume of capacity of the brain is what matters. If intelligence is a factor for language, then humans are the foolish species. But there is hope on the horizon. A recent article showing humans are getting smarter. Some scientists recognize Dolphin’s to be smarter than Apes; thank you to Elephant for posting the article. Once we are able to understand other, we can live in perfect tune with each other. I truly believe that we can learn so much more about our world if we humans just took the time to learn.
The definition of realm is an “area of responsibility or rule.” (Dictionary.com 2010) The realm of animal humanities involves various aspects. [1] When one thinks of Animal Humanities, they usually think of the preventative nature tactics: the distribution of information to the ignorant public, the protesting of animal cruelty and the lobbying for the passing of laws that prevent cruelty in all forms and promote animal rights. While I am also an advocate of these forms, I am most passionate about the physical and psychological affects that animals must deal with after such horrendous acts are imposed upon them. Pain is a universal language, one which all species of this planet are able to understand. To say that certain species do not feel pain is a violation of life. What makes it right that one species can say that another doesn’t understand this language? Such speciesism is what lead to the dilemma that we are currently in regarding animals. Seeing an animal in pain is one of the hardest sights to look upon, but dealing with the repercussions can be just as difficult as the act itself.
This Officer is protecting a found dog. It is the duty of mankind to provide better treatment for animals than we have in the past. We are the cause of their pain, past and present.[i]
The awareness of the field of animal cruelty prevention is already enormous and, by all means, should continue growing. But while the awareness of post-trauma care is large, it is not large enough; I believe it should be just as large, if not bigger, than that of cruelty prevention. There are many forms of injuries animals endure from cruelty; these include not just physical wounds but also, though not as much publicized, emotional and mental harm. In most situations, immediate veterinary care is priority for the physical wounds. However, most animals in these situations have trouble trusting humans, making it difficult to help them and further monitor their progress. If the animal recovers from their injuries, it is still difficult for them to trust certain people, I’ll explain further on this next, or they have behavioral or anxiety issues. Trouble trusting certain types of people is a form of aversion psychology – or drawing away or dislike. An animal knows that type of person that caused harm to him, so he avoids and can even attack at people who display similar characteristics. Behavior and anxiety issues can sometimes be worked out with medication or with the help of a certified Behavioral Specialist. A Behavioral Specialist “specializes in animal behaviors such as aggression, depression, or dementia.” (Marinelli 2001) “[s.i.c.]Effective applied animal behaviorists will have expertise in (a) behavior modification, so they know the techniques that produce changes in behavior, (b) the normal behavior of the species they’re treating, so they can recognize how and why your pet’s behavior is abnormal, and (c) teaching and counselling people, so they can effectively teach you how to understand and work with your pet. (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 2010) These concerns can be problematic when trying to find a new home for the animal. Hopefully, with the right rehabilitation, the animal’s trust can be restored and behavioral issues can be defeated. But in order for an animal to fully heal, in every meaning of the word, a loving family is just the right medication.
This dog is terrified of people. He thinks this because the only family he has known is one that abused him. This condition will take a lot of time to work through.[ii]
The reason why post-trauma care is less thought about is due to several reasons. First, societies and groups for animal humanities are more focused on the prevention of cruelty and advertising the immediate effects of it; moreover, to remove the animals from the cause of the cruelty. The ASPCA commercials and most of its website along with P.E.T.A’s website is proof of this. [2] Secondly, society is fickle; the public only cares about what is happening at the current moment. News media is a great example of this. Once the affair is over, people are only interested in the outcome, not in the after process; unless you’re a celebrity. This leads to the next reason. Celebrities use their status to make people aware of animal abuse and mistreatment. Dan Aykroyd and Sarah Mclachlin both did ASPCA commercials. (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Aminals 2010) Actor Joaquin Pheonix not only narrated the documentary Earthings, but made a video for P.E.T.A. entitled Cold-Blooded Horrors which centers on exotic reptile skins used in the fashion industry. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals 2010)
ASCPA Sarah Mclachlin Animal Abuse Commercial[iii]
While all of these reasons are wonderful in advertising for the prevention of animal cruelty, I do not see any advertisements for after care or showing the later repercussions for these survivors. There are no celebrities advocating for this. [3] At least, if there are any, I am not aware of them. With no advertisements for these conditions, the public is uninformed and ignorant. [4] Another tactic that society responds to is literature and movies. This leads to my next topic. An idea I have been pondering on since the beginning of the semester.
Since viewing Earthlings for the first time, I often wondered why a film as powerful as this was not as well known as other documentaries. My Animal Humanities class was the first time I had heard of or saw some of it. Then I realized that, while it was in a format that was easy to follow and showed accurate information, it was not a “blockbuster” that people would flood theaters to see, such as 2010’s Alice in Wonderland and How to Train Your Dragon because it would not interest the public as a whole. It must be put into terms that the dense public can understand: entertainment.
The most popular movie genre as determined by weekend gross for 2009.[iv]
My long term idea is to make a movie. Some may think that this is more of a short term goal; however, for my schedule and budget, it would have fall into the long term category. Also, if I my acting career takes off and we, the production company, are able to make more than one movie of this kind, the more information is distributed. It seems that audiences are starting to be more entertained by genres such as “Thrillers” and “Action Conspiracy.” With this in mind, the plot for this movie would be focused on the change of hierarchy of the food chain and speciesism. It is a typical story of the oppressed versus the oppressor, only the humans are now the ones being repressed by a new species of the planet. Only a few of these other new species (now named “Others”) is sympathetic to the human race, who is mentally suffering from the long era of abuse. Through a series of action adventures and dramatic conspiracy dialogue, one of the humans is able to confront their King to learn how and why such events have happened. The human learns that the Others took notice of our existence and used the same manner of exploits as we did to animals to overthrow humans. Then, the King asks the human “How, in any way, have we treated you any different than you have treated animals?” This should cause some thought within the audience as a compilation of images of slaughterhouses and animal abuse are played. Throughout the entire movie, the human’s appearance changes slowly to be more animal-like. The Other’s form also slowly changes into more human. This is so that at the climax between the King and the human, there is a distinction that the now human-like Other is the cause of pain to the animal-like human; making the connection that the original human is the cause of pain for animals. Of course, there has to be a happy ending…or does there? Not if we do not change our ways. Given the proper advertisement, I believe this would be a movie that people would like to see and leave reflect over; but of course it would have to be advertised as an action/adventure/conspiracy.
This would allow actors and actresses to put their craft to use for the purpose other than advertising against animal cruelty, but rather as a way to help prevent the abuse altogether. Portraying a life form that suffers at the hand of another will, hopefully, make them think about the way they treat animals for their fashion and products. While describing how they prepare and perform these roles in interviews, this should be able to give the audience who listens to it the same understanding.
Meanwhile, since I am currently a broke college student, I will keep trying to heal those that are already injured to the best of my ability. I recently became aware of the student pre-veterinary society and am looking into joining along with the Students Against Cruelty of Animals society, both here at UT. If I am ever able to make this movie or make a difference in preventing any kind of animal abuse, I just hope that I am able to inspire someone else to do the same. But in order to do this, people need information in its entirety. With more distribution and exposure to such information, only then can we humans take charge of the realm of animal humanities and heal the wounds of the past and avoid those in the future.
Word Count: 1420
Word Count without quotes: 1403
Works Cited
Dictionary.com. Thesaurus.com. 2010. http://thesaurus.com/browse/realm (accessed March 27, 2010).
Marinelli, Deborah A. “Careers in Animal Care and Veterinary Science.” In Careers in Animal Care and Veterinary Science, by Deborah A. Marinelli, 24. New York: The Rosen Publishing Company, Inc., 2001.
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. ASPCA Behavior: Finding Professional Help. 2010. http://www.aspcabehavior.org/articles/32/Finding-Professional-Help.aspx (accessed March 27, 2010).
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Aminals. About Us: ASPCA Commercials. 2010.http://www.aspca.org/about-us/aspca-commercials.html (accessed March 27, 2010).
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. User Action: Joaquin Pheonix Reveals Cold-Blooded Horrors. 2010. https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3003 (accessed March 27, 2010).
[1] I believe this is a good representation of Animal Humanities as it encompasses all values of animal care. Indeed, it is the responsibility of the Homo sapiens species to care and protect all other life forms of this planet, as we are the ones that cause the trouble, historically and even more so presently.
[2] The ASPCA website does have additional information regarding pet health and training. The P.E.T.A. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) website also has information on companies that do not test on animals. I believe it would be fair to both organizations to mention this as well.
[3] Society responds to what celebrities do, think, and advertise for instead of looking for information themselves; unless a friend or colleague informs them. Therefore, it is important to carefully look at who we resemble as celebrities, what they do or stand for before we follow their advertisements.
[4] Advertisements are devices that society responds too and make the public somewhat aware. Hopefully, enough of much to make people want to learn more.
