Humans have been inconsiderate and arbitrary about those living beings who are not like them. Be it people of any other caste, creed, color, race, or gender or other living beings who are not humans. It is very important to realize the fact that the animals have the same desire to live and they undergo similar feelings of love, pain, anger, pleasure as we humans do. They have all the right to live life with dignity as we all do because they too are the inhabitants of the same planet as we are. Animal abuse is something that hasn’t been given much importance in our country yet, still, we need to acknowledge such misbehaviour and start working towards animal welfare.
Each day we see a lot of stray animals near our homes. Instead of turning a blind eye to them, we should consider their helpless state and do our bit. Even a small contribution by us can matter a lot to them. Firstly, don’t try to touch a stray animal especially if it’s angry or scared. Our intentions may be good but there are some animals that are abandoned by their owners and tend to become frustrated and stressed in such a situation. Leftover food should not be thrown into the dustbin, instead, it can be used to feed those who are in urgent need of it.
However, while feeding an animal, the type of food to be given should be taken care of. “Animals are not human beings and cannot digest everything that we can. For example, chocolate is toxic for dogs, and cow milk is toxic to cats. Salt and turmeric are things that can cause fur loss and other problems. I always stick to yogurt or water for cats, and bread and water for dogs. You can also give them meat-based food, but keep in mind that boiled protein is more ideal for them than fried,” advises Animal Welfare activist, Naziba Basher.
“I can’t find a difference between my pets and strays. I always felt this amazing connection and great love for strays. So, I try to feed strays, play with them as much as possible. That makes me feel happy and alive.” -Aishwarya Guatam from World Animal Protection
On seeing any animal on the road that requires instant medical attention, spare five minutes of your time and contact the nearest Animal Care Cente. Don’t just bring the cat or the pup to your home just because you found it cute. Animals too have sentiments and can not bear the loss of family when it is abandoned. It is a matter of the whole life of an animal and something to be thought about. If you can’t keep it with you, take it to the nearest shelter home or to do more, help it in finding its forever home by posting the requirement of adoption on Facebook or Twitter.
Choose to adopt over shopping pets. There are thousands of animals in shelter homes out there waiting to find their forever homes. Try to adopt these ones so that the vacant space will be available for those who need it. Animals are the ones who have to bear extreme temperatures and weather conditions. Keep small bowls of water outside for them. You can also choose to donate, not just in cash but also in kind in the way of blankets, food, water, and medicines. Avoid wearing leather as the animal has to give away its life for your materialistic, fancy desire. Sparing a part of your time to working with NGOs for animal welfare will be a huge contribution on your part.
Organizations like PETA ( People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) work for animal rights and focus on animal welfare through public awareness and education, cruelty investigation, animal rescue, research to work towards building a better life for all living beings. ‘It has stopped US Army from the usage of dogs, cats and primates for wound experiments and training, PepsiCo, McDonald’s, Burger King, Capital One, AT&T, Honda, PUMA, Keds, Pfizer, Volkswagen, and The Hershey Company pulled their commercials featuring chimpanzees and following PETA’s campaign, H&M became the first retailer to ban exotic skins from its stores worldwide after receiving PETA’s video exposé, been successful in persuading many brands from selling materials that required experimenting on and killing animals, and much more. ‘Animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment or abuse in any other way.’ -PETA
Animals Matters to Me (AMTM) is a Non-Profit, charitable organization in Mumbai, India, which provides rescue facility for strays & abandoned ownerless animals, birds & reptiles in need of help. It offers the services of Adoption, Animal Shelter, Medical Treatment, Sterilisation & Animal Ambulance.
Organizations like these help to keep animal life up to the mark and they require a little support from us be it a small contribution in cash or kind or a voluntary help from our side in terms of giving our time to providing services to the needy dogs, cats, birds and every animal in need.
If you’re not capable of providing any help to the helpless, at least don’t mistreat them. Animals deserve ethical treatment not because they share the same characteristics that we do but because of the sheer reason that they are ‘living beings’. So, ‘Treat them like you would want your children to be treated.’
