Unbelievable act of animal cruelty
7 Dec 2013 5:19 AM IST
The shocking reports of 49 racehorses left to die in an Aligarh stud farm in a slap in the face of India’s claims to growth and development. For what moral rights are we left with to boast of our so-called achievements in sectors like economic growth and cultural advancements if the basic human values have been summarily abandoned? The horses, all 49 0f them, who had been left to die of starvation in a deserted stud farm at Doaba, about 130 kilometres from the heart of the national capital, were thoroughbred, and they had been raced, possibly even in Delhi’s own racecourses, until they were left behind to die an ignominious and horrendous death by themselves. Fortunately, the animal care NGO Friendicoes acted on a tip-off and rushed a team to the farm, whether they discovered, much to their horror, stallions, both indigenous and imported, lying in utter neglect, gaunt, starving for several days and nursing wounds that could be self-inflicted and induced from extreme hunger pangs. Reportedly, the owner of the farm had fled after a number of horses died following weed poisoning, and left the remaining horses to themselves, without anyone to attend to. Such barbaric conduct, from someone who has been in the ‘breeding business for two decades’, is not just shameful, it’s an absolute and unpardonable crime.
While an animal rights activist has filed a case of cruelty to animals in an Aligarh court against the owner, will it be enough to address the deeply-entrenched pathology that dictates such brutalities against the hapless creatures? What culturally-sanctioned depravity allows for such systematic abuse of animals, including the domesticated ones, such as cattle, donkeys, buffalos and even house cats and dogs, as well as the majestic wild animals that are endangered or facing threats of extinction? This kind of cruelty is surely a relic of the Asian and Middle Eastern countries, since the West has made strides as far as treating animals ethically and compassionately is concerned. However, those of us in India, and even in China, have not woken up to the horror of our crimes against animals. Looks like we have long junked our myths and fables in which the animal friends walked or flown side by side the often inglorious human heroes. How can a land that worships cows and a monkey practise such double standards?
While an animal rights activist has filed a case of cruelty to animals in an Aligarh court against the owner, will it be enough to address the deeply-entrenched pathology that dictates such brutalities against the hapless creatures? What culturally-sanctioned depravity allows for such systematic abuse of animals, including the domesticated ones, such as cattle, donkeys, buffalos and even house cats and dogs, as well as the majestic wild animals that are endangered or facing threats of extinction? This kind of cruelty is surely a relic of the Asian and Middle Eastern countries, since the West has made strides as far as treating animals ethically and compassionately is concerned. However, those of us in India, and even in China, have not woken up to the horror of our crimes against animals. Looks like we have long junked our myths and fables in which the animal friends walked or flown side by side the often inglorious human heroes. How can a land that worships cows and a monkey practise such double standards?
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