Pet talk

Last week while surfing the net, I checked in on a website that I frequent at least once a week.  It’s called Happynews.com and it boasts only good things to read about.  So instead of reading about deer/car accidents, over filled shelters, and the latest animal abuse case to hit the media, it normally has uplifting stories about pets saving their owners from some kind of danger.  But the story 10 Ways Kids Can Help Animals was pretty disturbing.

As I read the article, it soon became clear why I was dismayed.  It was basically a synopsis of the book called 50 Awesome Ways Kids Can Help Animals , by Ingrid Newkirk.  Ms. Newkirk is the head of PETA which is the humane group associated with the terrorist group called the Animal Liberation Front. 

PETA’s main objective is to raise the status of animals to the level of people.  In their opinion, animals are beings which are not to be owned, or raised in captivity.  They are against eating meat, wearing leather, and of course all zoos, aquariums, medical research and yes even pet ownership.  PETA believes that if you can’t own people, you shouldn’t own animals–period.

The article encouraged children to avoid zoos and aquariums because if those institutions do not make any money, they will not stay in business.  And that piece of advice I whole heartedly agree with.  If you do not like what you are eating, buying, reading, or watching on TV, DON’T do it any more.

But then the article crossed the line and told the children that if they did go to the  zoo that they should bring some paper and a pencil to “document” how clean the place is and how much it smells.  It instructs the children to ascertain if the animals look healthy, and if they are well fed.  So what do you think is going to happen?  A kid walks into a zoo thinking he is going to save some animals by exposing abuse.  He walks into a North American exhibit, sees a skunk, then smells a skunk–and not actually knowing what a skunk looks like and how it defends itself in the wild, writes a complaint to PETA?  Or how about that poor, poor, snake that is so malnourished that it was losing its skin?  Or the chickens whose bodies were nearly featherless this fall?  Mistreatment or molting?

Isn’t that why we have those places in the first place?  Are they not teaching children about animals and how they are part of this world and our environment?  Not only do zoos do an amazing job of teaching us about animals and their habitats, they are pretty successful at propagating the endangered species that man is killing off. 

People need to be aware of what is happening around them.  Children need to be taught how to avoid talking to strangers and how to call 911 if the neighbors house is on fire.  They also need to tell someone if an animal is starving, or they witness abuse of any kind.  But they do not need to become spies for an organization with terrorist ties.  Common sense and compassion for all things, are awesome ways to help animals for any kid.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007 at 12:26 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.