by Taetske | 2:04 pm
(Last Updated On: August 6, 2021)

 

Of animal rights and humans, some good and some disturbing news

 

We, in the Western world, often think of those faraway countries as backward, kind of lagging behind in many aspects. We know better, our laws are better, and the list could be endless. When one investigates a little, we find this is not entirely the case.

In my investigation, which was triggered by very worrying news, I came up with some surprising facts. Some countries can be far more advanced in certain aspects. So one should not always judge without having a closer look.

 

White Bengal Tiger

White Bengal Tiger image Andrew Swinfield

 

Animal rights in India

An Indian court has ruled that all animals should enjoy the same rights as human beings. This happened about a year ago, in 2018. The court stated that animals have distinct personas with corresponding rights, duties, and liabilities of a living person. I was happily surprised when I read this.

This is the landmark ruling by the Uttarakhand High Court, according to the status of “legal person or entity” to animals in the northern state. They gave this status to the entire animal kingdom.

One should really let this court ruling sink in and digest it. I had not heard of this before and find it absolutely beautiful. This would function as a deterrent to poachers, awful companies which pollute the environment, and those people who abuse pets or wildlife.

We all form part of creation and have a right to live here. If we live in harmony with nature and its inhabitants, our world would look a lot nicer.

The entire animal kingdom, of course, including avian and aquatic animals, are now declared to be legal entities. The sacred Ganges and Yamuna rivers will be more protected in a fight against toxic waste being dumped into them. Nature as a whole, humans included, would greatly benefit from these new laws. I gained some interesting data from this article.

 

Holy Cow

Holy Cow image Devanath

 

The world’s 17 “mega-diverse” countries

These are the 17 countries that host the majority of Earth’s plant and animal species.

Australia                            Brazil                                    Ecuador

Columbia                           China                                    Madagascar

India                                 Indonesia                               Papua New Guinea

Malaysia                            Philippines                             South Africa

Peru                                 Venezuela                               United States    

Democratic Republic of Congo

 

 

Under Indian Law, one has to distinguish two types of legal “persons”

There are sentient human beings and “juristic persons” such as minors, companies, trusts, wards of courts, or people with mental incapacities. Now, in this second group, animals have been included.

They give special thought to those animals which help us in agriculture. With temperatures above 37C and below 5C, they do not allow it to keep animals in harnesses with the purpose of drawing vehicles. They made another mention regarding using spikes or sharp objects on farm animals.

 

Spain has changed a lot

I have been an animal lover all my life. My Mother told me that when I still was tiny, while living in Australia where I was born, I would grab any cat I could get my tiny hands on. They never hurt me and sometimes would even lick my nearly hairless baby head.

Then in Holland, our cat had babies in my doll’s pram. One of the babies, Bongo, a black kitten, lived with us for nearly 20 years. Later on, after starting my Spanish farm in the south, I always had animals, cats, and dogs.

In 1877, Spain passed its first provision on animal cruelty, which prohibited the mistreatment of dogs. In 1928, they adopted the Criminal Code to incriminate the abuse or mistreatment of animals in general. Nowadays there might be from 3 months to one year prison sentences if caught mistreating and or causing the death of a pet.

One can also observe a shift in public opinion on the famous bullfights. In some places, it is forbidden and I think in the near future they might forbid it in the total country. Bullfighting can be traced back to 711 AD.

 

Dolphins

Dolphins image Wolfgang Zimmel

 

Laws are getting stricter on animal cruelty

One special case got a lot of attention some years ago. 3 years and a nine-month prison sentence was handed to the head of an animal shelter here on the Costa del Sol. She had killed hundreds of dogs and cats in an awful way.

In December 2017, the Spanish Congress agreed to launch a legal reform that would redefine animals as sentient beings. That was a big step forward as up till that time animals were inanimate objects.

Spain is a lovely country with abundant wildlife. It has the highest number of Unesco-designated Biosphere Reserves in the world. There are many projects in place for the protection and conservation of endangered species, like the brown bear, and the Iberian Lynx. Thanks to special breeding programs the number of Iberian lynx is increasing.

Spain has a group of lovely islands off the west coast of Africa, the Canary Islands. This area is one of the most important marine areas in the world. Here you will have the chance to see dolphins, sperm whales, and pilot whales. But there are more regions in Spain where you can see these animals, like in Asturias, Galicia, Basque Country, and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.

One should not forget the Spanish Imperial eagle, Spanish red deer, and wild boars. Then Spain is a paradise for bird watchers as in winter, migratory birds head from Europe to Africa, stopping in Spain for a rest. They often stop in the world-famous wetlands of the Donana National Park.

We can see all these animals and birds in the Donana National Park and in many other National Park across the country.

Spain has come a long way since that first law in 1928, as people see that taking care of the environment, with all of its inhabitants, will benefit all of us.

Now I come to the sad part of my post. After having seen that 2 countries like India and Spain have understood that preservation of the environment and its inhabitants is important for humans, how is it possible that another country wants to make a complete U-turn from a similar path?

 

Wild Orchid

Wild Orchid image Jacques GAIMARD

 

The Trump administration announced its plan to eviscerate the Endangered Species Act

In 1973, they created The Endangered Species Act under President Nixon. Its aim was to conserve wildlife, which was and still is at risk of extinction because of inconsiderate human activity. Let’s face it, it is men which, in most cases, cause species to disappear. I recently wrote a post on the Florida panther and you might like to read it.

The adoption of the Endangered Species Act has been of utmost importance and is said to have prevented the eradication of 99% of the 1,650 species it has guarded.

This video will explain what this decision means.

 

 

What about American animal laws?

The first known animal welfare laws are from old times. In 1641, they included the Tyranny or Cruelties toward domestic animals in the Massachusetts Body of Liberties. Then, in the late 1820s, several states passed anti-cruelty statutes. Now animal welfare relates to the treatment of animals in the field of agriculture, hunting, medical testing, and having pets in your own home.

 

Bears salmon fishing

Bears salmon fishing image David Hook

 

They separate it from animal conservation. Obviously, domestic animals or those living in the wild, all form part of creation and are equally important, and have the same right to live a life in their rightful habitat.

 

Wolf

Wolf image diapicard

 

The laws in Europe

The European Union recognizes animals as sentient beings. They put this as an Article in the Treaty of Lisbon in the year 2009. Generally, people have come to realize that animals have feelings. Still, so many laws need more than fine-tuning to reduce animal suffering.

Hopefully, one day there will be no more animals suffering at man’s hand, but that probably will be the day when we have become so enlightened that we make no more wars either, and protect our planet instead of destroying it.

 

Coming back to America, still, a lot needs to be done, but happily these last years a positive trend can be seen.

That is why this recent announcement of Mr. Trump is like a bucket of cold water. All that has been achieved over the years now could be erased with a single stroke of a pen. Since he became the elected President, his administration has not made it a secret that they are buddies of Big Oil and Gas, Timber, and Big Agrobusiness.

They want to take the power away from the ESA so they can do what they want. At what price will this come?

That is devastating news for threatened and endangered species, like the Florida Key deer and Canada Lynx. By making it more difficult to list species, and easier to remove them from the list, the Extinction Plan opens more land for fossil fuel drilling and mining.

That means more dirty coal, more dangerous fracking, and more destructive oil drilling. But what can one expect from a man who does not believe that Global Warming = Climate Change?

Four out of five Americans support the Endangered Species Act. If Mr. Trump gets away with his idea, that would mean the end of America as you have known it. No more Grizzly Bear or any bear, no more wolves, and the list goes on. This will cause such an enormous dis-balance, that soon you may be living in a desert.

In the past, the dangerous dis-balance was shown too well when the Grey Wolves were hunted to extinction. Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone, and only after studying the effects on the park, it was documented that the reintroduction of the wolves to Yellowstone park had a dramatic effect.

Without the wolf, elk and deer were unafraid to wander the streams in the open. They would nibble on the reeds and willows, killing them. This, in turn, caused a drop in the water table, which contributed to a decline in beaver and fish populations, and ultimately the whole system collapsed. Everything is related and when men interfere, the consequences can be horrible.

 

This is a valuable reference guide

In this book, you will find over 2000 plants and animals. On 576 pages you will travel from Florida to the Northwest Territories. Know the wild plants and animals of North America.

.
An Illustrated Guide to 2,000 Plants and Animals
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Conclusion

When other countries advance or, I would call it, become enlightened, understanding that the total of creation was meant to exist on our earth, it saddens me to see that America is turning away from this process by going in the opposite direction.

The following video is the best I have seen, it needs no words to show human stupidity.

 

 

Before you leave, pay a visit to Recommendations. This is a special page I have made for you. It holds a collection of things you might find interesting.

 

Source: The Telegraph, 5 July 2018, story by Saptarshi Ray, New Delhi,

Wikipedia, Daily Kos, Sierra Club

Photo Source: Pixabay

 

They made more incomprehensible decisions in the past. You might like to read the following post.

800 Year Old Trees In Danger, Unbelievable Government Decision

Comments

Dane

This is one very serious issue I must say. These animals haven’t done any harm to us yet we show them so much hate and disgust. I’m a cat lover and adopted a cat (Ivy)  she is such a darling and to show how nice she can be, she sometimes catches a mouse and all she does is take them far away from our house without killing them. America turning their back on their own laws which have served so well for a long time. This is a very saddening thing to see. 

Aug 20.2019 | 06:03 am

    Taetske

    Good Morning Dane,

    I had to smile when I read the story about Ivy. Are you really sure she does not secretly eat that juicy mouse she caught? My cats sometimes bring me presents but then, after showing off being such a great hunter they normally eat it.

    America is not doing well lately, I am watching this because my better half is American and luckily we both agree on this.

    Perhaps you care to take a look at Save the Planet, below my photo on the right-hand side. I am convinced we need to unite worldwide to stop all this nonsense. Our environment which after all is our habitat is in grave danger.

    Thank you for your comment. I hope you downloaded your free PDF? Tulip widget

    Regards, Taetske

    Aug 20.2019 | 11:44 am

RoDarrick

This is really disheartening to read in I must say. Animal cruelty should stop and it must not be that while other nations of the world are developing passion and respect for animals, the US is downgrading our respect for animals.

Trump has been a thorn in the flesh with some of his bills passed and various policies taken and if care is not taken concerning our cruelty towards animals, we might end up turning to savages. I respect the Indian law concerning animal and the Spanish too. Good to know about. Thanks

Aug 20.2019 | 06:06 am

    Taetske

    Good Morning Rodger,

    Thank you for visiting again and leaving a comment

    It is too sad these things are happening and we will be presented the bill for all our stupid actions. Human greed does not stop at destroying the environment and I wonder what future generations will think of us.

    There is room for a lot of improvement as animals still suffer all over the world. What is happening at the moment in America is heartbreaking.

    Regards, Taetske

    Aug 20.2019 | 11:27 am

Adyns68

I think the actual government in America is there to serve the rich people who want to get what they want. They do not want to be stopped in customs when they bring back exotic animals from other countries. They want to be able to continue making money trafficking such animals. It is a very sad reality we are living in.

But what they completely forget is that if the environment is destroyed there is nothing they can do to save it with their money, and they will have nowhere to enjoy that money.

Thanks for sharing.

Aug 20.2019 | 06:11 am

    Taetske

    Good Morning Adyns,

    Nice to see you again. Thank you for your comment.

    Your comment that all the money in the world will not be able to repair the damage to the environment is very good. Like the video in my post, please let the aliens come and make a doormat out of this monster. Sadly then the planet is ruined already. 

    Let us hope it will not happen that this Endangered Species Act is revoked but I am fearing for the worst.

    Regards, Taetske

    Aug 20.2019 | 11:18 am

Scott Hinkle

First off, thank you for this post.  I found it very enlightening to see how other countries compare to the US when it comes to animal protections.

I don’t want to get into the whole political debate thing but I can tell you I’m not a fan of the current administration or the steps they have taken to harm wildlife and the environment in general.  Undoing protections in favor of corporate profits and so on is just reprehensible.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m an animal lover but I also like the taste of some animals so I’m kind of on both sides if the fence.  Still, this article was quite eye-opening and I do appreciate it.

Thanks again,

     Scott

Aug 20.2019 | 06:14 am

    Taetske

    Good Morning Scott,

    Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment. I hope you downloaded your free PDF? Tulip widget.

    Having 2 websites and a better half who emigrated from the U.S. to Spain in August 2016 makes me more interested in what is happening in America. I am very upset by the direction all this is taking. I have written various posts on these issues. What happens in America has consequences for the rest of the world.

    May I draw your attention to Save the Planet, below my photo on the right-hand side? There you will find a worldwide movement, it might resonate with you too.

    I love animals and I also still eat meat sometimes. Fact is too many animals are being kept in awful conditions for consumption and this contributes to greenhouse gasses, a change in food is needed.

    Regards, Taetske

    Aug 20.2019 | 11:10 am

Paul

Dear Taetske,

You might be aware of, I am from India and when I read the good news you shared about the verdict provided by the Uttarakhand High Court I am amazed and I am really happy about it.

The sad news is I am not aware of it and I learned about it from your post only.

I strongly believe this world is not only for humans it also belongs to the 1000’s of other living beings. Unfortunately, humans are very selfish and think the whole world is just for humans. By destroying nature and living beings actually, we destroy ourselves.

I am also an animal lover and really happy to see there are laws coming to save animals and nature. The videos you embedded are informative and insightful.

Be the change!

Paul

Aug 20.2019 | 06:14 am

    Taetske

    Good Morning Paul,

    Nice to see you again and thank you for your comment.

    Having my 2 websites I am more on alert so to speak. When I found out about what is on the verge of happening in America it extremely upset me. When other countries are, slowly but surely, understanding that the whole creation has a meaning and everything is connected, I see that as advancing. Then on the other side, America is going backward on most levels, it is incredible.

    We, as a human race have the obligation to take care of Mother Earth. When the industrial era started the opposite has happened. Now we have a worldwide mess.

    Regards, Taetske

    Aug 20.2019 | 10:57 am

shirian

Thanks for this enlightening article. I personally didn’t know that America wants to destroy our wildlife!. If it is true,I can only say that I am really a disappointment.is interesting to see how some societies have a realistic view of the world’s phenomena and its issues. On the other hand, it is unfortunate when we see how someone as a human being is looking at the world as an own personal asset and doing horrible acts which causing vanish of our all legacies which have given us by our ancestors. This sort of article makes people more aware of own environment. This sort of article brings more attention to people being more sensitive and aware of own environment. If we are not aware, it is most likely the big problems remain unsolved. Wish you success on your path.

Aug 20.2019 | 08:02 am

    Taetske

    Good Morning Shirian,

    Thank you for visiting my website and leaving a comment. I hope you downloaded your free PDF? Tulip widget.

    America has been doing many awful things to its environment giving coal and gas, drilling, fracking, etc a preference. This impacts wildlife and the environment on a whole. The consequences will not only be suffered by the American people but by the whole world. America withdrew from Paris remember? Now they even plan to kill the Endangered Species Act which has been in place for so long and is doing a good job. One badly chosen leader can break a country and I think it looks very bad.

    You might care to look at Save the Planet, under my photo on the right-hand side. That is a very positive worldwide movement which will help the environment.

    Regards, Taetske 

    Aug 20.2019 | 10:45 am

Linda Frankson

Speaking up is a very hard thing to do. And as I read some of these comments I find people that haven’t been involved with their surroundings. Through your eyes, they are becoming more aware.

I am a researcher for health and wellness and through my work, I have come aware that health and wellness is not just the human condition it is all aspects of our environment.

People must understand why the world is becoming sicker and sicker. All that is around us has an impact on our health like the depletion of the Amazon, “oxygen”. Contamination of our waterways. Petrol chemicals, Pesticides, that not only affect the human race but all plant and animal life.

People like Trump and others like him have the power to annihilate because we the people place them in power. Power goes to their heads and it is very sad to see.

I think bUnited can become a solution that will take some of that power out and return it to the masses if used correctly.

Another great post thank you, always a better way.

Aug 26.2019 | 06:30 pm

    Taetske

    Good evening Linda,

    Thank you for visiting my website again. Thank you for your comment, it is really appreciated.

    If we choose the wrong leaders they can cause havoc in the few years they are in power. It is indeed very sad and worrying to see
    what is happening in various countries.
    You are right, everything is related and when the balance is gone the whole of creation will suffer.

    All the best, Linda, hope to see you again.

    Regards, Taetske

    Aug 26.2019 | 07:04 pm

Aly

It is sad to think of a world that doesn’t treasure the variety of unique life and the interconnectedness of everything around it. There have certainly been some recent setbacks with regards to political motives, but with any luck, those things can be quickly overcome and reversed with a new administration in charge in the USA at the federal level. 

Mar 16.2021 | 08:22 pm

    Taetske

    Good Morning Aly,

    Thank you for your visit and for your comment. Nice to see you again.

    I find it heartbreaking when a country does not care about the environment. I think it is our obligation to take care of fauna and flora and by doing this maintain our habitat. It is too sad that so many species are disappearing, some of them even before being discovered.

    A new president might undo the harm by a previous leader. We as voters should take extra care who we want to make the laws in our country. Our existence and that of plants and animals depend on it.

    Regards, Taetske

    Mar 17.2021 | 07:33 am

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