abuse till what extent?

The only defining difference between man and animal is man's ability to communicate with its fellow beings. While most animals display a far better level of intelligence and genius which is above humans, it still seems that they have not yet earned their place on our planet. Humans have considered it a universal fact by default that they are the masters of Planet Earth and if animals shall exist, it will be under their subjugation. From time immemorial animals have served humans in a myriad of ways. From tilling the land to protecting the crops, different animals played their role. Dog was even called man's best friend, which is true indeed.

    Us, humans have always been greedy and we still are. We have been exploiting animals ever since we started growing. Animals are being killed for skin, tusks, ivory, horns etc. While poachers hunt with an aim to sell and earn money, hunters kill animals just for the thrill of doing it. Hundreds of animals have been slaughtered for shooting scenes in films. Important species like Black Rhinoceros, Cheetah, Polar Bear etc. are critically endangered. 

   Apart from poaching, illegal hunting and use of animals in shooting for films, animals also face and tolerate a lot of abuse from humans as pets. Owners tend to beat and torture their pets and mostly these innocent animals have to bear the frustration of their owners. Pet animals are a good source to unwind and they act as fun companions but they are not for venting our anger. Until and unless we realize that we all have to share this planet and animals are a vital part of it too. According to a study those who have tendency to hurt or torture animals may do so with their fellow human beings too. So next time you see a person beating up an animal, stop and warn them.

     The reason for all this abuse is not just to assert the superiority, it is our inability to feel what animals feel. We associate with only our pain and suffering, but what of mute animals who cannot fight back or make demands like us. Wildlife sanctuaries, reserves and parks offer some respite but not complete relief.  Humans are already creating enough troubles for animals by cutting down forests and expanding cities. Little things like not feeding your pet on time, not providing proper medical care,confining pets are all considered as acts of harassment against animals. 

    We should give up the use of leather,ivory and all those materials which are obtained after killing animals. Elephants, grizzly bear, rhinoceros are large animals which may lose their calm but they never harm us without a reason. We must respect this understanding and not harm them for our selfish interests.

Dont abuse them just because they cannot speak back!

It is one thing to be a bystander to animal cruelty but it is an entirely different thing to stormily strike and wound a living creature under the pretense of your own twisted idea of playtime. Animal abuse has now after so many years become a rather hot topic among animal enthusiasts. I have often wondered that how does a man, who goes to work in the morning, has a family, become such a cruel tormentor of animals! These people are sociopaths; they are clinically not worthy enough to be a part of the society since they are incapable of any sort of empathy. Below is a true story written in the perspective of a person of such a kind..

After a long day at work Ravi (name changed) came home very irritated. He banged the door and felt like hitting someone. His boss had yelled at him in front of everybody and thrown his reports away calling those “bullshit!” How dare he? Who does he think he is? Ravi could not hit his boss since the job was the only source of income supporting his family of four so he got out of the office and kicked the car. When he went inside his house, his wife immediately reminded him of the party that they had to leave for in an hour. Ravi’s irritation grew and he felt like hitting his wife, but he then he remembered about one of his neighbor Mr. Sinha’s case of how he had slapped his wife and was sent to jail for 3 years on account of domestic violence, Ravi did not want to take that risk. As Ravi was pacing about his room, he accidently stepped on his dog and that poor thing yelped. Ravi then had an idea, what is better than hitting a thing that won’t be able to speak out? He kicked his dog in the stomach and the dog cried in pain, oh how wonderful did he feel...Ravi’s annoyance dissolved and he felt better, Thus an abuser had been born!

Human mind is a strange thing, my mother always forbade me from eating with my hand because once I lost my reticence of eating with my hands it would be very difficult to control myself in future, same goes in the above case too, once we lose the inhibition of doing something we know is morally wrong, the sense of guilt in us dies and then it becomes very difficult to control. This is the same reason why mothers forbid their children from stealing. To rekindle that sense of morality in us we need to first realize the wrong that we are doing. It is important to recognize that these creatures are also capable of pain, but let’s not lose hope because there are always two sided to a coin, the human population has always been divided into two on the basis of our opinions and choices, on one sided where exist such cruel and repulsive people…there are others ready to stand up for these “paws”; people who look at these creatures as living beings and save them from the wrath of others, hug them to sleep, feed them, take care of them.

-Divya pathak

PEOPLE FOR PAWS AT AYF 2015

The three days long “Amity Youth Fest” is the most sought after annual event at Amity University. This year it marked the official launch of People For Paws at the university. The PFP- Amity team came together to set up a stall at the H Block which seems to be the centre of attraction and most crowded place at all times. The stall was a result of a lot of perseverance by Namistah Arora and her Professors at the ASCO Dept. A great deal of creative work was put in by Sonakshi and Megha, who together designed a very attractive banner for the stall. Other team members included- Siddharth, Pooja, Naman, Minali, Megha, Sonakshi, Zarah, Pushpit, Shobhit, Jaibir and other new additions to the PFP- Amity family.

The main objectives during the fest were the promotion of the society, enroll volunteers, explain our work and success so far, collect funding  and give away dos and don’ts when dealing with animals.

Activities at the stall included digitally capturing a moment with desi pups, feeding some tuna to the most cuddle-able dogs of amity to drive away dog-phobia, selling of PFP customized Tees, and promoting the adoption of the amity pups.

The funds so collected were put to use for the vaccination and sterilization of the dogs of amity and outside. We also donated some amount to needful organizations and societies.

The stall attracted more visitors than expected. The event was a huge success and was deeply appreciated by animal lovers within the campus. We wish to be a part of the coming fests as well.

Do you love dogs?

Do you love dogs? Of course, who doesn’t? Who can’t love those cute little creatures that have no knowledge as to what the world has in store for them. Do you feel bad when you hear a dog cry utter in pain? Do you feel bad when people overlook stray dogs? If the answer is yes, then I am not sure if you can keep calm on Kerala Government’s decision to cull dog menace in the State.  The recent news which hit the screens and the world said that Government of Kerala is going to cull troublesome stray dogs and the officials claim that this decision is going to boost Kerala’s tourism.

Recently, an online campaign by animal rights activist is gaining momentum which calls for “boycotting Kerala Tourism” Also, the protests are going to be held internationally on 26^th July against the State’s decision. The campaign is getting widely noticed through the usage of photographs and videos and according to campaigners, the campaign calls for the boycott of Kerala tourism and all Kerala products till the Kerala dog culling orders are not revoked. The state government and the Tourism ministry has been given 2 weeks time to decide on the issues of mass culling of stray dogs.

Officials also claim, due to high rate of dogs infected with rabies reportedly, an odd 40,000 dog bite cases in past 8 months is the reason behind this decision. Do you think the government is making the right choice? I believe culling is not the only option left with them; they could have started a sterilization programme long back.

What are your views on this? Shout out in the comments below.

Diary of a mother pig

‘’We are present in abundance! But, does anyone even care?’’



Last evening, I saw my biggest nightmare in reality, actually happening in front of my eyes. My child, my little offspring, who could barely even run properly on his own, getting smashed under the wheels of a speeding vehicle. My child, to whom I was feeding on my own, my child, whom I had nurtured since the day he was born met with his fate of death, so…soon. My child was killed mercilessly in front of my eyes.
What could I have done? I could have screeched, shouted and cried out my tears seeing my kid’s mouth open with blood scattered on the road., tears of grief and tears of anger. I could have leaped on that reckless inhumane driver out of agony for killing my child. I could have myself come under the wheels of another passing speeding vehicle. But I didn’t do anything. I didn’t react in any which way. I couldn’t have shouted my lungs out, because in this big, bad world filled with insensitive humans, nobody would have bothered to listen to me. I couldn’t have leaped on that reckless driver because we’re docile and generous animals. We don’t harm those in return, who hurt us. Lastly, I couldn’t have mustered the courage to come under another vehicle and accept my fate because in front of me, were my other three little kids, with their innocent and tender eyes gazing back at me.

DEAR HUMANS,
I am a mother pig to four of my young offsprings. Yes, I still consider my fourth child (who is no more with us) still a part of our family. My children and me just need a small, little space in the corner of your society where I can lie down and feed my children. My family just need your domestic unwanted products that you dispose off. We don’t disturb your locality with any waste or dirt. We don’t come in the way you decide to keep your area.

My fourth child today, could have been with me, if only that human being on the steering could have applied brakes on time. If only that human was concerned enough to save my little child who was crossing the road hastily.
Nothing can ever replace the warmth of my child, breathing as he used to rest on my body. Nothing can bring back the lost tenderness that my child had. I still remember and can still feel how tenderly he used to feed onto me. We shared love, care and attachment which had become a part of me. But, as my child passed away, a part of my heart and soul went away with him.

I don’t trust humans anymore. But, that doesn’t mean that I will teach my children not to respect them. Humans will always be my fellow beings, but, I wish, we all could share and give each other space, time and care instead of cruelty and injustice. Atleast, me and my children don’t deserve that, because, again, I won’t tell my children to treat humans with disrespect or partiality.
Just being a little considerate will solve all problems and bring back tranquillity amongst all species. All I am asking for, is a little kindness on your part as you are what this world considers, ‘civilized and intelligent beings of the animal race’.
All that I will ever ask for, is compassion and generosity for your fellow beings with whom you share this planet with.

Freedom

When I saw a bird in a cage,

Which was similar to a torn page;

“Had she done some fault” I asked

That her freedom had come to a halt.

It could not fly over the field of grains

Instead it sang a  song of strain.

Oh! Why I couldn’t feel its sadness

Is it because I live in this world of madness?

I must be dug into the ground,                 

For I didn’t let it dive in the vale profound.

But now I will free it without time spent

Even if I have to cross the Arabian Sands.

She just flew like a soul escaping  from the body’s cage

And I felt attached to the torn page.


-NIKITA PRASAD

The Bond That Ceased, Yet The Love That Exists.

This isn't a love story. This doesn't involve girlfriends and/or boyfriends, or brides and/or grooms, or “forever meant to be”’s. 

But this is a story of love - a love that has sustained itself out of a bond that lasted for not more than 24 hours. 

Hi. My name’s Shubhankar. What you might be reading further doesn’t have a happy ending, or even a sad ending, or a lesson learnt. It’s just a story of Schwaan and I. 

Schwaan - what a lovely chap he was. A golden labrador, little, scrumptious, and lazier than what we’d expected, but lovable anyhow. We’d brought him home - it was Summer - and chose to be ignorant to the fact that my mom was -is - really afraid of dogs. She’s really afraid of almost all animals. I was adamant. We had to have a puppy at home. So we did, even though many advised otherwise. 

Now there he was, at home. I couldn't yet fathom there was a Marley living under the same roof as me, playing with me, and for the most part, sleeping. A perfect epitome of a real-life Sleeping Beauty. 

The afternoon and evening passed with all of us - minus Mom - embracing Schwaan. My mom had temporarily resided at the dining-table, then the bed, anywhere but the floor. Then came nighttime. Schwaan begin having episodes of uncontrollable excretion. My brother and I stayed up late, cleaning the results of each. We were worn out and had to call our dad to come and stay with Schwaan for a little while so that we could grab some sleep. 

The next morning, the tiredness of the previous night was fairly recognizable on our faces. That was when we had an epiphany. We can handle all the love of a dog and his sweetness and his cuteness, but it requires too much work. Therefore, we decided to give it away to a family who could really work hard to keep him, love him, nurture him. A relative of one of my father’s employees was looking for a dog for their family, for their two children. A genuine, loving family. Perfect match. Hardest decision - to let Schwaan go. But we had to. 

Evening. It was time. I got ready, packed all of Schwaan’s stuff, picked him up, greeted him to my grandmother before leaving, got in the car, reached my dad’s office, greeted him to everyone else, held his little paw in the air to enunciate a goodbye. As I was walking through throngs of people and commotion, I was holding Schwaan in my arms, wanting it to never end. I was so emotional, I hardly was expressive. Pokerface. We met the man and handed our little one to them. 

On the ride back home, I was speechless. No word spoken, no sound made, no reaction given. I was looking out the car-window but I had my sight set on nothing but the melancholic void. It was like I’d given away a piece of me, and a teardrop would almost appear every time I’d think of it, I’d think of him. 

The family was contacted a few days later and we found out that the father was working extra shifts just to be able to fully take care of our little one that swiftly became an irreplaceable part of them. 

I couldn't have planned this for myself. Being an animal lover, I couldn't predicted I’d be the one who’d give such a cutie away, who wouldn't be able to take care of him, who’d so quickly grow tired by the work raising a pup calls for. 

But I’m happy, ‘cause I believe Schwaan’s happy. 

-Shubhankar Verma