Caring for animals as living beings is something that must be taught from young
Letter from Deirdre Moss in TODAY
Executive Officer, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA)
TODAY, 24 March 2006
I REFER to the recent letters and comments in Today which were precipitated by the recent shocking case of animal cruelty towards a defenseless kitten.
Various suggestions have been given by the writers to deter these abusers from continuing such violent acts, which ultimately could translate into crimes against their fellow human beings. Stiffer sentencing for animal abusers, along with counselling, doing community service and caning for repeat offenders were some of the suggestions raised.
The necessary acknowledgement by the relevant authorities ? that animal abuse is a serious crime and should be viewed accordingly ? was another issue raised.
The SPCA has itself experienced cases wherein the police were not aware that animal cruelty is a crime and only after alerting them to the relevant section under the Animal & Birds Act, do they act.
There can be no denying that a person who goes out of his way to deliberately inflict torturous injury upon a defenseless animal without provocation, and who has apparently displayed a history of such abuse, needs a sufficient deterrent sentence and counselling by professionals to change his ways.
Whether or not a "hardcore" animal abuser will change his ways or his mindset following these measures, however, remains to be seen.
In relation to this, another opinion expressed in the newspapers is that proper guidance must be given so that children will grow up to have empathy and compassion for all living beings.
Herein, the SPCA believes, lies the crux of the matter ? it cannot be emphasised enough that youths in our society must be taught compassion from an early age, prevention being better than cure.
The SPCA's priority through talks in its school programme is to inculcate in children caring and compassionate behaviour towards animals. Along with the necessary nurturing from parents and teachers, we hope to bring about a society that stands up for those who cannot speak up for themselves.
The recent case of kitten abuse wherein residents banded together to catch the culprit, along with the significant number of letters in the media condemning the crime and lamenting the light penalty, gives the SPCA hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
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5 comments:
Usually people that hurt animals also hurt people.
Hi, I was passing by and stopped to look at your kitty pictures. I think what you're doing to help find homes for cats is really great! I have 2 cats, a long hair Persion mix and a Calico. I adopted the Persian from a shelter in 1999 and she's spayed, healthy and spoiled. The Calico was dropped on me in 2001, now she's spayed, healthy and spoiled as well, lol! I also have 2 shelter rescue dogs that sleep with the cats :)
Jackie is beautiful! Someone should fall in love with it soon!
it's great what spca is doing.
i think as animal lovers we also serve our part in a small way to drive the message starting with our family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances.
the more we speak up, maybe one more person, who probably did not care much for animals or strays will start looking at them differently. it really starts from there. people don't have to love animals but just to acknowledge that they are creatures who bleed and feel pain and to develop compassion and a conscience because of this.
may seem extreme but i think someone needs to televise the way AVA puts down animals so that they think twice before calling for pest control. from what i hear, they put all the cats alive and kicking in a drum, cover the lid and flip the switch to electrocute them. please tell me that is not true. if it is all the more its about everyone to acknowledge the extreme cruelty of such an act, exactly because, like them or not, these are creatures who bleed and feel pain.
AVA has never been forthcoming about how they kill the many strays surrended day after day after day. With the shortage of manpower, only a fool will believe that a vet or technician injects lethal drug into each animal, one by one. But that is what AVA publicly declared but it has rejected visitations by the SPCA or members of the public to witness how the animals are put down. I am sure if someone can secretly video-record how these cats and dogs are killed at the AVA, most people except the likes of David Hooi, will think twice about complaining to the town councils or the AVA. It is ironic that the animal cruelty act is under the jurisdiction of AVA. It should be under a separate truly humane department or organisation!
Carolyn and ap: thanks for dropping by. Carolyn, you have an interesting blog...I'll visit again later.
Animalfamily & anonymous: pls tell me that electrocution is not true. :-O They will never show how the killing is done.
I'm amazed that till today, many people are still unaware of what it really means to send strays to AVA and SPCA - that the animals will most likely be put to sleep.
Another letter about abandoned kittens appeared in the ST forum page today. While it's written by someone who feels compassion for animals, he suggested sending animals to the SPCA if their owners can no longer deal with their pets. His exact words were: "Being responsible enough to find a new home for their pets if they cannot manage them any more or handing them over to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals".
I wonder: is sending pets to the SPCA the right thing to do, or was the writer being ignorant? *scratch head*
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