Protecting fellow creatures

In a number of cases our attitude and behavior towards animals is bizarre. Why should we hate pigs and what is the logic behind abhorring a creature which is as natural a product of evolution as we are

Animal rights’ situation in Pakistan is dismal. While dog fights and cockfights continue in Chakwal and KPK, wild boars are poisoned in Islamabad. As imported snakes suffer at Karachi zoo, bulls’ eyes are sprayed with red chilies in DG Khan to make them run fast in a contest. And as snake and mongoose fights are routinely held in Sindh for a small price, monkeys’ are enslaved to earn money all over the country.

Just like women, eunuch and child rights, the concept of animal rights are at best a “Western” concept in our society. Whenever someone talks about animal rights, the usual response is to lament human rights and the discourse never picks up.

The primary focus of animal rights in the West is on treating fellow creatures humanely, even avoiding inflicting pain on them when they are slaughtered and advocating against the use of stuff manufactured out of animal fur or skin for sports or luxury. On the other hand we here have dog-shooters employed by municipal corporations who search for stray dogs to be exterminated. Strychnine poisoning is also used as an alternate means. Psychological research by Ken Shipiro of Harvard has established a direct relationship between violence in society and animal abuse. A dozen or so NGOs’ are active in the protection of animal rights; however, their scope is limited and they have little influence on actual practices.

Under the British colonial rule; animal protection laws were enacted, “Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1890”. As per section 3 of the act “cruelty to animals is punishable for a first offense with one month imprisonment, or 50 rupee fine, or with three months imprisonment, or 100 rupee fine for a subsequent offense which is committed within three years of the first one.

In 2001, bear baiting is also said to have been specifically prohibited possibly under an order of President Musharraf.
Additionally, section 429 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 makes it a criminal offense to kill, maim, or render useless any animal; the offense is punishable with five years imprisonment, or with fine, or with both.

Unfortunately the laws hardly have any deterrent value as the punishments are meager, and probably not a single person has ever been imprisoned under these laws in the entire Pakistan’s history.

However the Punjab Livestock Department has drafted a “comprehensive act for the welfare of animals” to replace the brief ‘Animals’ Welfare Act’ introduced by the British in 1890 which imposes “minimum punishments and fines on people involved in cruelty on animals”.

The livestock department sent the draft to the government at the end of December 2009, but it was not tabled in the provincial assembly. The proposed act endeavored to promote the welfare of animals through the promotion of steps to protect the defenseless, to treat the injured, to house the homeless, and to comfort the abused. The bill was committed to ensure the protection of animals as well as to foster a better understanding of the vital role played by animals in the daily lives of human beings.

In a number of cases our attitude and behavior towards animals is bizarre. Why should we hate pigs and what is the logic behind abhorring a creature which is as natural a product of evolution as we are. Similarly why should we kill a snake at first sight when it is almost always defensive in behavior? But this is how we are socialized to act in a particular way; often without any logic.

While we slaughter animals on the roadside in an extremely violent fashion, even third world countries have enacted laws to prevent this cruelty. The Costa Rican Animal Welfare Law says that animals should be slaughtered with adequate technology, according to the species, to reduce their pain to a minimum. Similarly the Tanzanian Animal Welfare Act reads “An animal shall be slaughtered through a method which (a) involves instantaneous killing; or (2) instantaneously renders an animal unconscious and ends in death without consciousness. While we butcher animals in front of other animals, the Zambian Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act includes a provision that slaughtering an animal in sight of another constitutes cruelty. The further reduce suffering the animals are stunned in almost all Western countries before being slaughtered.

While we subject animals to a close confinement for long durations, housing and management of animals has been of primary importance in animal welfare legislation. Housing generally refers to the type and condition of the accommodations in which animals are kept, while management refers to methods of handling, controlling and caring for animals throughout their lives. Housing issues include choices about whether animals are kept indoors or outdoors, the allotment of living space, the temperature and ventilation and the methods and materials used in construction of facilities. Management issues include feeding, disease prevention, veterinary treatment, surgical procedures, non-therapeutic drugs, genetic modification and breeding methods, as well as personnel and handling. For example the Swedish Animal Protection Ordinance includes several provisions which ensure that livestock buildings and other holding rooms for animals shall be sufficiently spacious to allow all the animals to lie down at the same time and to move freely. Secondly the premises shall be designed in such a way as to allow the animals to behave naturally.

We often witness how mercilessly animals are packed in vehicles and transported from one place to another. On the other hand animal transportation has been of great concern in legislation in other countries. Several states have recommended particular designs for containers and even for vessels, and vehicles to reduce the chances of any injury, disorientation, panic or heightened stress. The Peruvian Law on Protection of Domestic Animals and Wild Animals Kept in Captivity states that “transportation of animals by truck or any other type of vehicle requires the use of procedures that do not involve cruelty, mistreatment, extreme fatigue or lack of rest, water or food for the transported animals, with special attention to sick animals.

While animal feed is often found adulterated in this country many other countries ensure provision of safe, adequate and nutritious feed to maintaining both animal health and welfare. For example, the Croatian Animal Protection Act prohibits giving animals substances "the ingestion of which causes pain, suffering, injury, fear or death" and forcing animals to ingest substances "unless instructed by a veterinarian to do so for animal health reasons or unless it is scientifically justified".

Similarly animals also have a right to veterinary treatment. For example the Chinese law ensures that “animal owners must provide necessary medical treatment to the animals that are injured or sick. Similarly the medical treatment or surgery of animals, based on the need for the health or management of the animal, shall be operated by veterinarians". Finally the Austrian animal protection act prohibits tail docking; ear cropping; devocalization; de-clawing and de-fanging; and beak trimming.

While the international community is increasingly sensitized to treatment meted out to fellow creatures, we have yet to develop a mindset which envisages a humane treatment to those who inhabited Earth long before we evolved to invade their lands and establish our hegemony over this planet.