The Sanctity of Life

There was a shocking story in the newspaper other day that bought home the fact that in a lot of cases we as humans seem to have lost our respect for the sanctity of life, especially when it comes to animals.

A homeless man walking nearby Pietermaritzburg heard a dog howling and apon going to investigate discovered to his horror and shock, a small 6 month old border collie mix puppy buried up to its neck in the sand. First he tried to flag down some police who seemed disinterested (now doesn't that give you confidence in our police now!) then persevering managed to get hold of the SPCA. Further investigation revealed that the poor puppy had also been stabbed twice, buried with dead chickens and candles and other animal bones. Apparently this is a black magic method of killing your enemies. The mind boggles at the pain and suffering that the poor puppy had to endure all in the name of some supposed spell that is supposed to kill someone. Sadly this practice is all too common, and many years ago there was a famous case of animal cruelty when a poor defenceless black cat was kicked to death at a soccer stadium before a match, because the crowd thought it was a witch!!

Shocking isn't it? It seems that we as humans have not evolved much from our primal need to dominate, conquer and destroy, and as we come under increasing stress and pressure, the ones who suffer the most are the ones who cannot speak. We abuse, torture and destroy animals - in the name of scientific research, cosmetic research and for our own pleasure, after all holding the fate of a defenceless animal in your hands gives one a sense of power doesn't it??

It depresses me to the point of no return when I think of the countless abused, homeless and starved animals that suffer each and every day at our hands, and it is hard for me to reconcile our so-called civility with our need to hurt and destroy.

The other day at the place I work at, they put down a yearling horse. You might say well that happens all the time right? well the problem I have with this is that although this horse was never going to be a runner, surely they could have found it a home as someone's riding horse or a pet? Instead because it didn't serve a purpose and took up space, it was put down and then had to suffer the indignity of laying on a tarpaulin all day bloating in the sun!! I just cannot get over the irony of the situation, if you are not good enough you are put down - that is what it boils down to in the end.

It is frightening to think that one day we might once again be faced with the situation of getting rid of those people- yes people now!! that are considered not desirable.