Animals are a huge part of our lives - most of us treat our pets like they are humans and one of the family. But we also get a huge amazement from wild animals. They are so exotic and intimidating that we can't help but be intrigued by them. However, a common theme that these readings made me realize was that despite our love for animals, we treat them pretty shitty. We capture them and put them in cages and if we don't like them then we just dump them off at the pound like they are someone else's problem. I really think that if everyone took responsibility and treated animals with the respect that they deserve our world would be a much better place for all to live.
To start off, the huge fish that have gone extinct - or supposedly have gone extinct - were because of humans. Pyramid Lake in Nevada is known for these huge fish, which makes for good fishing. But, fishing was not what made these fish disappear, it was the pollutions and chemicals that we put into the water that made these fish die out. My question is if we knew that these huge and rare fish were living here (or any other fish for that matter) why put harmful chemicals in there at all? Was it really helping anything by doing that? This is just one example of many species forced into extinction by man.
This brings me to my next point: zoos. Yeah, I'll admit they are fun and a good use of time and money to go. But, does anyone ever think of what it must be like for those animals? I just think if someone put me in a confined area for the rest of my life how awful that would be. I do believe that they are well taken care of at the zoos and such but that fact that they are stuck in a small area just kills me. Many animals are like Tillacum (sp?) the orca whale act aggressively towards humans when they are held in captivity. Interestingly enough, the trailer for "Blackfish" mentioned that orca whales don't usually attack humans in the ocean (which I thought they did). This shows that by being cooped up they build aggression and then attack. I just trace this all back to humans - the three deaths caused by this particular whale could have all been completely avoided if he had been left to live his life like it was intended; wild and free. The gorilla story, "Primal Compassion"is another depiction of humans treating a caged animal poorly. After the mother gorilla cares for the small boy who ended up in her caged area - which I totally was not expecting her to be nice and loving to him - the zookeepers come in and spray her and the others with huge hoses to ward them away from the child. Talk about confusing for the gorilla, she just did a good deed and now they are punishing her? Another example of how humans treat these animals like dirt. She could have killed that kid, but she didn't instead she took care of as if it were her own. Just doesn't add up to me.
On a different note, animal abuse is not only happening in zoos where they are captured, but in factories as well. The gaming advertisement "The Scarecrow"depicts how poorly treated animals are in these conditions as well. In one scene it showed the cow in a tin box getting milked by a machine and a chicken being forced to lay eggs. I am not a vegetarian or anything, and don't get me wrong I do really enjoy animal byproducts, but there has got to be a better way to go about these things.
Cats are another problem, especially at my house because my dad can't stand all the feral cats in the neighborhood and he is definitely the type to call animal control on them. I really enjoyed the article "Don't fear the Feral" because I could totally relate to it since we have a lot of stray cats where I live. I had never thought of going down and bringing them to the shelter to get them neutered. I think it is a great idea, but I am skeptical because how many people are actually going to do that? And spend their money to get it spayed? Not many. This problem can be related back to humans, part of the reason there are so many stray cats is because people decide to get a cat then they don't want it anymore so they just dump it off somewhere and this starts the cycle of the cat living outside and mating with other stray cats to produce even more stray cats. This leads to more animals that are struggling to survive without loving homes. Again, if people would take the responsibility and properly take care of their animals then this problem would not be as big of an issue as it is now.
On a happier note, "Rikki-Tikki" was a cute story of a pet mongoose who saves a family from the evil cobras. This story represents how animals are loyal to their owners, and it made me realize how loyal my animals are to me and my family as well. Animals are important parts of our lives and we are an important part in theirs as well - they treat us well so we need to do the same.
Got to admit that I wasn't sure where "And Tango Makes Three" fit in with all of this. However, I thought it was a sweet story and really dumb that school districts and parents threw a fit about having it in the school libraries. Seems a little overboard to me. I am looking forward to the discussion to see what other people thought of these readings (this on in particular!).
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