MAN AND THE ANIMALS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVi, 30 October 1925, Page 3

MAN AND THE ANIMALS

"WELFARE WEEK" APPEAL By Elsie K. Morton, in N.Z. Herald. Ml lovers of annuals »v:i! give their sympathy and support to Ariinai Wei 1 t’v Wold; (wim:!; is biwtig held ttii’ougxi out Nev. Zealand at tiie present Mine,. Once ague; tne organisation v’ tan* of Mr .) A Forbes, o! Camara, than vi ll Mil no person in New Zealand bus done moii to create a spirit of kindness and consideration towards the dumb unatures who serve mankind so, faithfully. (luce again the clergy, the school teachcl;; anil the press have been roil nested to do all in their power to make -iniinal Meek a success, and it is onion raging t. note that increased support i? being accorded the project year by year. It is liithcult. despite constant prosecutions h r ads nf cruelty to animals, for many men and women to believe that there is any need fur welfare Weeks or S.P.C . A.’s, or any other kind of organised effort to secure humane treatment for these dumb creatures. 'I hev will i el| you that in New Zealand there is nothing like the same indifference, in gleet and active cruelty to animals that there is in older countries, and Hint the great majority of men are kind-hearted and can be trusted to safeguard the welfare of their four-footed friends. And they are quite right. But what about the minority? It does not take, an organised army of men to”wreak untold misery and suffering to the. birds, and beasts of (bid’s creation. One eviltempered driver of biases can make life a living torment to the unfortunate animals placed in bis charge. Who has not. seen, at some time or other. the pitiful sight of an over-burdened horse being thrashed and sworn at as it heaves and struggles. with muscles strained and taut, on an upgrade; who has not felt a throb of pity at the sight ol some patient, willing brute quivering with pain and terror as a callous driver urges it forward under a merciless load? A little patience, a little kindness, a little more understanding among men as to how a horse should he treated, and what a Heaven would open here on earth for these dumb and faithful servitors. So little they claim in return for life-long service—nothing but their food and a. shelter under which to rest when the hard day's work is done. FA ITU ELL SERVICE TO .MANKIND Me speak of animals as belonging to Hie "lower" order, but where among mankind, will you find such loyalty, tailiduliiess, and ungrudging service m the face of neglect and positive cruelty? Often the thought has come to me that if Heaven were to offer me just one wish in all the world, that wish would he. not. for anything personal, not for any high reward in this life or the next, but just this—that the animals who are doomed to suiter under man's tyranny might he given voice to tell of their sulterings and their woes. Then we should soon fiml nut whether or notthere is any need for animal welfare organisations, whether we are so guiltless ol oheiice against the animal world I hat we ran allord In brush the question aside when anyone asks if there is not rorrin tor improvement. Cluing .Animal Welfare Week last >ear, a sermon was preached in an Auckland church so lorcelul. so true and so poignant, that a portion of it is well worthy of quotation for the benelil cl I hose who may not go to church mi • Animal Sunday." Listen to what this preacher had lo say: "This earth is made a veritable hell for animals used by man lor his food, for purposes of comment •. conflict and recreation. Mar brings anguish untold to the animal world, hm I doubt il (heir sufferings are ever realised, save by the men who actually witness them. But it is not only if. war that the animals suffer, it is in the slaughter houses, in cattle trucks, in sports that have the killing of live birds and beasts as their object, in bull fighting and lodeo displays. The suffering and cruelty involved in these tilings sickens the mind, and I am certain that if people only realised one-hundredth part, of the agony these humble, voiceless creatures endure, they would bo willing to deny themselves rattier than 'luif such suffering should continue. It seeju^necessary that these lower animals imi.'g die that man may live, but it is ar. much our duty to protect them from unnecessary suffering as it is to shield a child from cruel treatment." A CENTURY’S PROGRESS Within fncfiast century a remarkable tliange nas taken place, in public sentimrni upon the matter of humane treatment of animals In 1821 tiie I liaise of (. ominous laughed to scorn, with rough and brutal humour, the suggestion that legislation should be introduced for iim protection of animals, and it is only to be supposed that these men represent, id the prevailing spirit uf the day. .Mankind has advanced a long, long wav along the path ol justice and meivv since these days, yet even to day he is tar Irani the ultimate goal. Cases of tli.grain cruelty, when detected are punish,el more or less—usually less—severely, but I here is no question that tin* system «•} lining ;i man in Hiese eases instead of inflicting the severest penally permitted by iaw is re sponsible for a great deal of the illMeatmen! anil negligence that still pretails. A few weeks ago, for instance, a ease of flagrant neglect and over clouding of eleven horses in one’ railway truck was before the Court in Hamilton. They were bound for Haetahi, the starting place being a station on the Rotorua line, and when the train reached I’rankton, one was found lying Read an the floor of the van, and‘two others were, down with the remainder trampling them underfoot. When the unfortunate beasts tried to get up they tell to the ground again exhausted. EoV •his shameful act of neglect and cruelty H ! .° Coul ' t inflicted a paltry fine of E2 10s. Again__aiid again one reads of r/tiics where cattle have been left in paddocks without food or water, until they eie of .starvation, or are found in the lasi pitiable stages of exhaustion, the penally ir all save the raiest eases being the infliction of some utterly inadequate line. Il is not until a man lights :l fire under a la lieu horse, burns out .Is eyes vitli acid, or otherwise maims nr kills it with revolting cruelty, that fi- 1 ' crime is held wartliv of imprisonment. And in'thing will lie done to bring these torturers of dumb creatures L> honk until public opinion is sufficiently roused to demand it, until the Societies tor lh c I’rot eel ion of Cruelty te Animals are sufficiently strong to enter a protest that will carry weight. A .MESSAGE TO THE HOME’S -Animal \\ el fa re Week carries a message to every home in the country where living creatures are kept for pleasure or ■or profit. It. carries to the children the lesson of kindness to their pets, to their parents, a reminder of their obligations 1 '• the creatures who serve them or are their faithful companions and friends. !’ teaches the avoidance of the minor 1 1’tielties, the keeping of dogs perpetually on the chain, the turning adrift, of lets no longer wanted, the cruelty of Raving them in an empty house when holiday time comes—all tiie small .neglects and acts of thoughtlessness that bring suffering to the humble creatures ■’>ho are the lesser children of a Divine Father's creation.