Tikumu’s letter

Press, 4 October 1977, Page 38

Tikumu’s letter

Dear Children, Today is St Francis’ Day. He cared for all creatures, great and small, and at this time we should think of new ways of helping them. Many animals are neglected or unhappy. Sometimes they are unkindly treated in the towns and in the country'. Sometimes, too. wild animals are hunted without mercy. In the seas, for example, the mighty blue whales may soon be extinct. We should try to give our support to those people who search for loving owners for miserable animals, and to those who work hard to protect animals from needless slaughter.

Animals, wherever they live, depend upon one an-

other, and on the mountains, forests, seas, and rivers which support them. If we kill more of them than we need, through greed or lack of thought, or destroy their homes, we'cause an alteration to the entire natural system. Species may become extinct, and disasters like erosion and floods may occur. Each creature, however fierce or however humble, is important — the weta, the jellyfish, and the crocodile as well as the bellbird, the tiger, and the whale. Without animals, the seas and earth would become ugly and barren. Let us remember them everywhere. And let us be kind to our pets. Tikumu.