The mistreatment of animals is a social issue that does not get
the attention it deserves. Animals are such a key element of our lives. They
are being mistreated, abused, and exploited, they cant speak on their own
behalf so it is our job to do it for them. Many of us my self included may not
think that we are contributing to the problem but the fact of the matter is
that we are. We may not be the ones who are physically mistreating or abusing these
animals but the way we live our day-to-day lives ignoring what is happening is
contribution enough, which ends now. Through the readings from this week and
the documentaries, we have seen and read many different things that are
happening with animals and have heard many different viewpoints.
Ric O’Bary is a dolphin expert who was most well known for his
efforts in the 1960’s where he captured and trained dolphins for the hit
television series Flipper. O’Bary made a radical change and became an activist for
keeping dolphins out of captivity after seeing first hand the conditions the
dolphins were kept in and how they were effected emotionally from being taken
out of the wild. In the documentary The Cove Ric O Bary and his team bring the
story of the incredible mistreatment of dolphins in Taiji Japan to light. The
documentary depicts the extreme brutal slaughtering of dolphins in Japan. The
viewer is taken on an espionage portrayal of the secret fishing of these
dolphins. The fishermen who are trapping and slaughtering these dolphins are
extremely angry to see people taking pictures or taking videos because what
they are doing is wrong. These Fishermen trap these dolphins in a cove and
brutally slaughter them on a massive scale, it is an annual occurrence and over
2,000 dolphins are killed in the slaughter. The documentary is very moving and
the gruesome footage is what makes the message so very strong. There is a scene
where dolphins are being slaughtered and the underwater camera records the
sounds of the dolphins, it is piercing and you can truly hear the pain in the
dolphins’ cries.
Dolphins are believed to be
the second most intelligent mammals next to humans. Studies have shown that
they have abilities to feel emotion, interact with humans, and have even shown
signs of communication. So what makes the slaughter of these dolphins even more
tragic is that they are fully aware of what’s happening when this terrible act is
occurring.
In the documentary How I
became an Elephant, we are taken on a similar ride, where we see the
mistreatment and exploitation of Elephants. Elephants like dolphins are
extremely smart animals and because we have realized their intelligence we are
using them in circuses similar to how we use dolphins in places like Sea World.
These animals have become dollar signs and are worked and abused until they are
no longer useful then thrown to the waste side. Elephants are incredibly
majestic animals and have clear emotions. In the wild they have strong family
ties and are extremely productive creatures walking in some cases up to 50
miles a day. When they are kept in semi truck trailers and used as circus animals
they become stir crazy and depressed. The story of Tyke is an example of what can happen when an elephant is kept
in captivity and abused. Tyke was a circus performing elephant that was abused
for years; eventually she couldn’t take it anymore and attacked her trainer.
Now some people say that this happened because she was a violent elephant, what
do you expect to happen when you abuse something that weighs a few tons? It is
ignorant and just plain stupid to think that elephants should be trained and
used in a circus. It is a travesty to keep these animals in cages. The elephant
population is diminishing rapidly and humans are the sole reason for that, it
would be a terrible loss if elephants went extinct and it is on us to make sure
that doesn’t happen.
In the reading “Am I Blue?” by Alice Walker we read a story of a
horse that is in a field alone and is so bored that when she looks into the
horse’s eyes she sees sadness. We all have an emotional connection to animals
and when you look into their eyes their emotions are present. Alice Walkin
writes about the exploitation of other animals, Cows being kept in tiny cages
and milked then slaughtered so we can drink milk and eat hamburgers. Chickens
being cooped up then killed so we can have eggs and eat wings. There’s a
passage in Am I Blue by Alice Walkin that explains we eat hamburgers that are
advertised with images of bulls who look to be commanding there fait. That is
one very ironic point.
We have a true deep down connection with animals that goes all
the way back to ancient times, we have evolved passed them and have forgotten
that they have emotions. We look at them and see a less intelligent species,
which may be true but that doesn’t mean that they should be slaughtered for a
profit. We have lost sight of our connection to animals and we use them then
kill them, and its beyond wrong. In the reading dwelling defy the wolf we
read about the connection of man to the wolf and how it predates to native
times. The Anishnabe people believe that we are decedents of the wolf, which is
why when we hear a wolf’s howl we feel something.
Through the films and readings we have seen that animals are
being exploited and abused but it is much more then just dolphins and elephants
it is in every species we have neglected animals as a whole and determined that
their place on earth is not as important so there for who cares. Dogs that are
being mistreated is another incredibly undermined issue breeders breeding them
in terrible conditions and selling them for a profit. Dogs being abused by
their owners it’s a truly terrible truth. In some cases people are selling puppies in Wal Mart parking lots which I have seen
first hand in North Carolina. People go up to these people and are blinded by
the cuteness of the puppies to see the bigger picture, an unlicensed
undocumented person selling puppies with no medical records or shots.
It is clear that animals are being mistreated, abused, and
exploited. The most important thing is now that the problem is beginning to get
the attention it deserves what are we going to do to fix it?
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