| Is there a difference between Animal Welfare
and Animal Rights? Why does it make a difference?
The difference is the Animal Rightists hidden agenda - The total
elimination of all pets as companion animals!
A Rare and Precious Thing (a eulogy)
And indeed he was; with his tip-tilted wide green eyes, and his soft golden
and brown coat that lay in swathes along his high shoulders and flared out
around his powerful haunches. Drawn by an artist’s hand, fine deep chocolate
lines encircled his eyes. More lines ran from the corners of his eyes down
his cheeks, like tears. His nose was softest russet, lined again in deepest
brown. His sensitive ears, set high and tipped with black feathers, twitched
at the slightest sound. He cocked his head and watched the people file past.
It was strange here; he’d seen bars before, around soft bedding and
bedecked with ribbons and ruffles. Staticky voices called out numbers, and
kind hands carried him to other sets of bars. Other hands took him out and
played with him. It was a game: Let them feel his strong shoulders and extend
his tail to its full length. In exchange, he got to bat at sparkly strings
and feathers. People watched and clapped. It was fun!
But, he’d never seen harsh lights like this, never smelled smells like
this. It was almost like being at the vet’s, but no one knew his name
and no one held him close. He grew afraid. As the people filed by, he listened.
He heard a voice he recognized and stood high on his tufted paws to listen
and look. The voice was upset, frantic, and he called out in return,
stretching to his full height and trying to push his muzzle thru the bars.
A stranger in a green coat smacked the bars and he huddled back in the corner.
Another stranger came to talk with the stranger in the green coat. He hissed;
frightened of the sudden movements and strange smell. Words were exchanged;
something about “licenses and paperwork”. Something else about
“too many cats”. He was confused. He remembered the strangers coming
to the front door with a special piece of paper. His human had protested
and cried, but one of the strangers had a gun. Another stranger promised
that it was just a “routine inspection”. His human let them in.
He remembered that she was very frightened. He’d never smelled her so
frightened. His brothers and sisters, his mother and his father and some
of the old cats, crowded around the doors, wondering about the strangers.
They reared up and butted the strangers’ legs with their heads, hoping
to be petted and held.
Things happened very fast then. The lady with the gun and the funny uniform
was talking to his human. Suddenly, hands grabbed him and put him in a carrier.
He was frightened, but didn’t fight because he was used to going in
carriers. Maybe these people were going to a show with him? His human ran
to the carrier and pulled him out and hugged him. If he tried real hard,
he could still taste her tears on his coat. It made him sad, but it tasted
like home. Hands grabbed him again and put him back in the carrier. He rode
for a while in the back of a van. It was like going to show but he could
hear his housemates crying. Even the old cats were coming along and they
never went to shows.
Then, they came to this place. The place where he was now. His great-grandmother
cried and wailed. The same man in the green coat took her out of the carrier.
He heard something about “too old and her teeth are bad”. They
took her away. She didn’t fight--she was too confused and frightened.
He didn’t smell her anywhere now. Just a faint whiff of fear amongst
the chemicals in the bright cold air.
The man in the green coat came back along with another lady in a nice suit.
He was confused, he didn’t know about that man--he was harsh and
he moved too quickly. Maybe the lady would be nicer. Maybe she’d understand
that he was just frightened and hissed because he was scared. The lady had
a clipboard and a pen around her neck on a string. He heard something about
“poorly socialized, temperament disorder, unsuitable for adoption”.
He was confused. Everybody loved him at the shows. The judges cuddled
and kissed him. His human gave him special treats. Children came by and loved
to play with him when he was out on his special grooming table. “Hey,
I’m not unsuitable! I’m scared! Won’t somebody please hold
me?”
The people went away for a while. Then another lady came. She was young and
she was holding a funny loop on a stick in her hand. She looked nice and
friendly. He stood up on his hind legs and pawed the bars. Her hand moved
real fast and the loop was around his neck! He went limp, trusting the nice
lady to rescue him before he strangled. She pulled him out of the cage by
his neck. It hurt! He’d never been handled like this. He just wanted
to be friends. He just wanted to go home.
As the young lady carried him through the strange show hall, full of terrified
cats, he wrinkled his nose. The smell of fear was overwhelming. He struggled,
wanting to talk to the other cats. “It’s okay--it’s just a
funny show. Be good and your humans will give you treats afterwards!”.
The lady carried him into a room. It was a vet’s office. It was not
his vet’s office. The vet wouldn’t look at him. She wouldn’t
even touch him . She didn’t know his name. She moved very fast. The
one lady pulled the noose off his neck. Another lady he hadn’t even
seen grabbed him by the scruff! Why?? He hadn’t even growled or
hissed! He’d never hurt anyone! Why were they so afraid of him? Why
wouldn’t anyone hold him or talk to him? Why didn’t anyone know
his name!?”
The vet slipped a needle into his leg. It hurt for a moment, but no worse
than the tests he had to take to be sure he was healthy. Suddenly, the room
began to spin. The lights swam and spun down into a single point, receding
into darkness. As his legs buckled, he thought he heard his human’s
voice. He thought he heard some of his housemates calling him. The spark
of light receded fast, faster than he could follow. It grew hard to breathe.
A great weight pressed down on his chest. Just before the light receded to
nothingness, a voice he didn’t know said, “I am so sorry, you precious
thing.”
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Folks, I pray and hope that this eulogy may never be needed, but unless we
band together outside of or despite associational lines--it will be said,
over and over again. Please, whether you breed dogs or ferrets or cats, or
whether you just love them--let's band together to fight restrictive legislation
nationwide. Every law that is passed, be it city or county or state wide,
doesn't just affect those of us in those given areas. It affects ALL of us,
and it affects our precious pets.
Protect our rare and precious things--that they may never smell our fear
nor taste our tears upon their coats, that we may never be forced to betray
their trust in us.
Reva L. Schneider --Dawncats Maine Coons
How many people who support Animal Rights do so without knowing their
real agenda? The total elimination of our beloved pets! These
people refuse to even call them pets preferring the more distant and clinical
term "Companion Animal". Consider the following quotes from their leader
Ingrid Newkirk:
 "Pet
ownership is an absolutely abysmal situation brought about by human
manipulation." (Washingtonian Magazine, August,
1986)
"I
don't use the word 'pet'. I think it's speciest language. I prefer
'companion animal'. We would no longer allow...pet shops... Eventually
companion animals would be phased out." (Harper's Magazine,
August, 1988)
"The
bottom line is that people don't have the right to manipulate or to breed
dogs and cats...If people want toys, they should buy inanimate objects.
If they want companionship, they should seek it with their own kind."
(Animals, May/June 1993)
"One
day, we would like an end to pet shops and the breeding of animals. [Dogs]
would pursue their natural lives in the wild...They would have full lives,
not wasting at home for someone to come home in the evening and pet them
and then sit there and watch TV." ("Where Would We Be Without
Animals?", Chicago Daily Herald, March 1, 1990)
Folks, this is a serious issue. Groups such as PETA (People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and HSUS (the Humane Society of the United
States), want to abolish our right to own, care for, and cherish, one of
the most basic pleasures in so many peoples lives, our beloved
family pets!
For more information on this subject, Check out the following links:
Animal Rights or Animal
Welfare? (Information on restrictive and coercive legislation,
animal rights activists, animal rights and aids research, and links to
organizations dedicated to animal welfare.)
Why cat fanciers support
animal welfare, not animal rights (Information on what animal rights
advocates believe, what they say, and a listing of their agenda. Also
information on what animal welfare advocates believe.)
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