On commodifying hunting dogs and other animals
Submitted by ANIMAL RIGHTS MALTA’S BLOG
Audrey Callus writes the following letter in today’s The Malta Independent:
“I was shocked and angry when I read a headline (The Malta Independent, April 24) that a good number of dogs are expected to be put down if the situation (hunting ban) persists. As I could not believe that what my eyes were reading was true, I went on to read the relevant article and this confirmed the facts as outlined in the title and further elaborated that since ’some hunters have as many as four (dogs) or even more… as a consequence, a good number of dogs are expected to be put down if the situation persists’.
Do these people realise what they are saying? Do they have a heart or did hunting make them heartless and the notion of killing does not have the same meaning to them as it does to normal people? This is truly shocking and a further affirmation of how low these people can go to try to blackmail the whole population in backing them to get their spring hunting back.
Dogs are not commodities to be used to one’s own whims and requirements. Once a dog is taken into a family it should be treated like a member of the family and not disposed of when it is not required any more. All the hunters who have this intention should really be ashamed of themselves. This makes us, the anti-hunting lobby, even more adamant in condemning hunting and those who have this hobby”.
Now, of course, I am in perfect agreement with Ms Callus on this. However, it will not go without saying that all sentient animals are not commodities to be used to one’s own whims.
If dogs are sentient individuals, (which they are), are not cows, chickens, pigs, fishes and all other animals also sentient individuals, with the right not to be treated as things or commodities? Taking into account that the consumption of animal bodies or other “products” derived from their bodies, are not necessary for our health and survival, does this not make the use and killing of any non-human animal, for pleasure or convenience, equally heartless?
Millions of non-human animals live miserable lives culminating in an untimely death just for the sake of our pleasure and convenience. These animals have as much a right not to be treated as commodities as your average family dog. And yet, many people who would be shocked by the killing of a dog, which is reasonable, yet do not even think about where the commodified animal flesh on their plate, or the animal skin they wear on their feet or backs, comes from.
Sentient animals are not commodities or things. Treating them as such violates their basic rights. Let us be consistent in the way we think and act. What you would not do to your family dog, why do it to the cow, chicken, pig or fish?
Are you an activist or just an animal lover? Register on Animal Rights Blog now and get published within minutes. Before posting, it is recommended that you review our posting guidelines.
