A Dog's Life : reflecting on SPECIESISM
I can never understand how anyone could dump a pet dog under any circumstances. Neither would millions of other dog lovers around the world. But the problem is something called SPECIESISM. This was first discussed and evidenced by an Australian philosopher called Peter Singer back in 1975 so we've understood something about the problem for quite some time
SPECIESISM is a cultural imperative to treat animals as inferior to ourselves and not deserving of the basic rights and respect due to us
This arises out of our becoming the dominant species on this planet, especially in the last fifty thousand years.
During this time we have learnt to destroy all other animals or use them as resources.
Most of the megafauna of the last Ice Age including woolly mammoths, cave bears etc were all killed off mainly by us
In the last 300 years we have engaged in what has cometo be known as the Sixth Mass Extinction event in which uniquely ourselves, just one species, is responsible for wiping out most other higher life forms ( mammals, birds, repitiles, fish, amphibians...)
Domesticated animals are abused, tortured, torn apart and eaten in their BILLIONS every year, worked to death, tortured for entertainment, kept in zoos as things to be looked at, their feelings unrecognised except via some vague international declarations that fall short of giving them rights of protection
Why all this ? Because all dominant religions and cultures agree that they aren't as good as we are, they don't deserve any better. They're just ANIMALS, aren't they ? That's SPECIESISM. It's the oldest and most horrific oppression in the world, more horrific than slavery, colonialism and oppression of women - and these have been and in some cases still are, gruesome enough. The only societies that acknowledge the spiritual importance of animals, even if they do kill them as well, are some primitive hunters and gatherers. But even these have extinguished many species.
Hindus and Buddhists claim to respect animal life. It's hard to see if. One of the biggest animal sacrifices in the world is Gadhimai when tens of thousands of animals are butchered every year to some local goddess. I ask you ! And as for Buddhists, in Asia they eat everything including their own feet if they got a chance.
No. It's got nowhere. If I got reincarnated and jad to choose the best or the worst I'd say spoilt lapdog the best and abused street dog in Eastern Europe or some developing country among the worst or just about any wild species.
You look around and see what happens to abandoned dogs and strays and ferals and you know what 'a dog's life,' really means. It's certainly not just a metaphor.
Until SPECIESISM is recognised worldwide for the horror that it is, nothing will change for animals.
Nature is a hard place. But for other species of higher life forms, when humans started emerging dominant sole fifty thousand years ago, their Hell began.
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