Our Thoughts
A Little bit of Food for Thought...
How many times have you heard people say "I don't want to visit the animal refuge as I can't bare to see those poor doggies in the cages" or "I turned off the television as I couldn't bare to watch that documentary about the poor animals being exported"... many of us care so deeply about animal cruelty, but we can't bare to see it or acknowledge it, so we turn away and pretend it doesn't happen. Others of us do watch - we watch and absorb and although it breaks our hearts and the images that we see keep us awake at night, we become informed and because of the despair we feel, we make the decision to do what we can to help.
Helping takes so many forms - it doesn't have to cost money, it doesn't even have to involve time - helping can be as simple as making decisions in your everyday life that are contributing to animal welfare. Think about free range eggs... we all know the benefits to chickens if we select the free range over the factory ones, well, simple things like these everyday choices really can make a difference. When you think about it, if everyone made the same decision (to buy free range eggs and free range chicken) there would be no more battery hens! Every tiny little bit helps - what YOU do as an individual really does count!
Here are a few really obvious things that, if we all did them, we could dramatically change the world...
DESEXING: Such a simple, simple solution!! Desex your pet and stop unwanted litters of puppies and kittens coming into the world! It is such a ridiculously simple solution - yet millions of animals are still "allowed to have one or two litters" - please...seriously, think about the hundreds of off-spring each of those litters will produce.. There are too many animals and not enough homes already, and thousands of healthy animals are euthanised daily as it is - how simple would it be to do your part and DESEX your pet!
GET YOUR NEXT PET FROM A RESCUE CENTRE: There are literally thousands of Animal Rescue Centres around the country - around the world!! Why oh why are people still walking into pet stores and buying animals that have been bred to be sold for profit - when our refuges are killing loving, healthy animals every day! Pick up any newspaper or trading magazine and check the Pet section - row after row of unwanted pets are available - Pet Shops, Markets, Websites... the list goes on! There are simply too many pets and not enough loving homes! Please don't buy that cute puppy or kitten in the shop window - save a life and offer a home to an otherwise unwanted pet and truly help to stop the cycle.
Visit www.saynotoanimalsinpetshops.com for more information.
EDUCATE YOURSELF on what is happening around the world AND STAND UP AND BE HEARD: Do you realise that in China, millions of dogs and cats are eaten annually and millions more are skinned alive, left to die by freezing to death? Are you aware of the torturous conditions that many of the battery pigs are bred and live in right here in Australia? Do you realise that many of the products you use every single day are painfully tested on innocent animals? The list goes on and topics such as these, the cruelty of live exports, fur products, circus animals etc etc etc are EVERYONE'S business - and if they make you sad, you need to STAND UP AND BE HEARD!! This doesn't have to mean turning vegan or marching in a fur-protest rally, it means that if you get the chance to sign a petition, purchase free range pork or to otherwise have a voice, EXERCISE THAT VOICE - your support really does matter and will help create a change. (visit www.animlasasia.org or www.savebabe.com.au or one of the hundreds of other organisations that will bring you the cold hard facts about the suffering our animals go through. If you truely do love animals, BECOME INVOLVED AND SUPPORT THEM!
REPORT ANIMAL ABUSE: don't just get upset or walk away... REPORT IT! If it's a neighbour who neglects their pet, if it's a pet shop stuffing windows full of puppies on a hot summer's day, if it's a circus whipping an elephant into submission... act on it and fix it. We can all make such a difference if we stop ourselves from turning away and pretending it did't happen.
INCLUDE YOUR PETS! The Jury is in…yes, your pets DO need to be included in your family! It is distressing to know that still, in this day and age, thousands of dogs are left in backyards, unexercised, excluded and otherwise living a pointless existence. Why have a pet if you do not want to reap the benefits they bring - unconditional love, comfort, humour... Please, when you commit to a pet, bring it into your family and include it - understand its needs and don't give up on it.
