Anthropomorphism: the attribution of human characteristics or behaviour to a god, animal, or object.
I know very few people who don’t vouch for the well-being of animals and the way they should be treated when it comes to their aid in our daily routines.
But why are there so many boundaries that we can’t decipher when it comes to how we, as humans, treat them collectively.
For some, animals are simply a part of the chain of life. We need them to survive and they need us to survive, but because we are at the top of the food chain, the ultimate predator, we get to choose how we treat them. This comes under the theory of Speciesism’ which is the idea that being human is a good enough reason for human animals to have greater moral rights than non-human animals. …a prejudice or bias in favour of the interests of members of one’s own species and against those of members of other species.
Wrong.
This is where equality comes into play. There are still so many issues when it comes to equality between men and women, between straight people and the LGBQT society, between races and religions, between humans and animals.
We all bleed red.
I personally think the concept of equality is simple, however it is one of the worlds leading issues. But again, for those who don’t treat others with any sense of differentiation, why do animals get treated less than humanely?
The answer? People are afraid of beings that they don’t understand, displaying any form of characteristic that is the similar to us but no way to communicate through their actions.
Is it even an equality issue because they are a different species altogether? Or should our consideration of what makes a being a being, be justified by animals being treated with the same respect that we demand on a daily basis?
Animals, any and all kinds, experience the same emotions and have the same thoughts and lifestyle patterns as us. They feel happiness, sadness, fear, and excitement. They display many characteristics that we do as humans to sustain and maintain their lives, their breeding, interacting and the raising of their offspring. They understand when danger is present just as we do and they display the same fight or flight responses.
Human attributes found in animals maintain that we should be able to level out and take pride in the way we treat animals for our benefit. I understand that the world will never change and I‘m not preaching vegetarianism or veganism, I am preaching for their livelihood and wellbeing and that their injustices be respected as much as our injustices demand to be.
In the case of Tilikum, the Orca from Blackfish, the documentary created a portal to the way that any animal can be mistreated even in places where the animals are suppose to be idolised, not manufactured for meat or fur. It happens in different scenarios all over the world, main offenders being touring circuses.
There is a huge debate about, even if the animal is being treated right in captivity, is it humane to keep exotic animals if they are not free and in the wild the way they are suppose to be? A debate that has just any many pros as it does cons for both arguments.
In my gap year I travelled to Borneo, Malaysia and spent a few weeks volunteering at Matang Wildlife Sanctuary where I learnt a magnitude of issues surrounding the rescue and rehabilitation of Orangutans and Sun Bears. I found some of the enclosures small and quite like jail cells, which I felt defeated the purpose of what I was there for. But the animals kept in those over the night were the animals that could not be released back into the wild. Because they were taken as babies, they have not learnt the skills necessary to survive in the wild, and they have become so accustomed to human interaction that even if they could be taught, it would be redundant. The aim then is to make their life in captivity as comfortable and as natural as possible despite being locked away. For those that are not so far gone, they are released into semi-wild conditions to ensure they are capable and will be able to fend for themselves before they are released back into the wild.
As far as I can preach being a carnivore, I still desire a world where the conditions of animals are regulated far more often and catered for with more concern.
Sasha Hall 