They way we treat them.

The way humans treat animals. From our perspective, we would love to think that we treat them kindly. We give them homes, we play with them, we pet them, we take them on walks, we make nature documentaries celebrating their beauty, we breed them and cross breed them, we make idols out of them even. 

But, from their perspective I don't think we come off very nice. We lock them in cages, we force feed them bland pebbles of dehydrated meat, we ride on them for entertainment, we force them into zoos where they have little space, we cut down their habitats to create farms where we put them into factories to be raised for food, we cut up their bodies and eat them, we take their eggs and babies, we take them out of the oceans in mass quantities to make money off their carcasses, we do scientific experiments on them, we attach images to them to justify the way we treat them, and so much more.

Now, I know that sounded awful. And most people haven't been to a slaughterhouse or behind the scenes of a circus elephant's life, or in a laboratory testing tumors on cats so we don't think about it often, or ever. But, as a species, we are destroying the other species of this planet. And I think it's time to take some Response Ability. Because we can change it. 

We've all seen commercials for the endangered life of polar bears or pandas on tv and wanted to cry. We've all seen the little tags for the WordWildLife, an organization that funds conservation action around the globe. So we know that things can change, we see these changes and want to help because this planet is beautiful! It's so rich and abundant, the biodiversity is a joy and it brings us happiness to learn about new species. So let's keep it that way.

So my question is, why do humans feel the urge to dominate over the other creatures on this planet? I thought we were stewards, not slave masters! It's sickening to see a man kick his dog for barking excessively. When animals get hurt, we can physically feel it. We can feel the suffering of animals. If you have ever seen a slaughterhouse video (which I recommend everyone should to know the truth) then you know that animals do suffer. And we can feel their suffering.

I'm done hearing the pish posh about how animals aren't sentient creatures. OH REALLY? Well then, tell me why a mother cat stays with her babies, teaches them how to defend themselves, feeds them, cleans them, LOVES them. Dolphins are shown to have a better social memory than we do. They remember the sounds of their companions, even after they have been separated for 20 years! When one dolphin dies, their family stays with them and honors them, like a sort of funeral. Animals have the ability to express intentional behaviors, they have complex nervous systems, detailed communication centers in their brain, they have the ability to express emotion with their voices.

Animal sentience is a fact that we can no longer argue. There is profound and large evidence proving it. Coming from that basic understanding, we can take action to protect them, make sure they have what they need to live full, healthy lives and die a natural death- not caused by our violence and technological misuse. 

For me personally, realizing the sentience of animals was enough to make me stop eating them and their products, stop buying leather, buy products only if they are 100% cruelty free and not tested on animals, etc. This motivation was caused by me being EXPOSED to the truth. 

If you have not yet seen it, please watch the documentary Earthlings. You can find it free on youtube below in the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce4DJh-L7Ys

This is not about going vegetarian/vegan or becoming an activist, this is simply about respecting the life on this planet. Honoring the free will of animals and saying Yes to their life. Humans are very powerful and we have the opportunity to destroy this planet or create paradise. The choice is in your hands.