The Bible says, `a righteous man regarded the life of his beast,’ thus making kindness and justice to domestic animals an essential part of human virtue. The animals, like the horse, dog, ass and mule, which men have bred and trained for their own use, and which are often faithful and hard-working servants, have indeed a claim upon our mercy and justice; the more so because they are dumb and helpless in our hands, and cannot plead their own cause.
The man who starves his horse, beats his dog, or unmercifully overloads his ass, is a brute and bully. He is also a fool; because even a selfish slave –owner knows that it is his own interest to have well fed and cared for slaves. And yet we think of what these dumb creatures suffer at the hands of men, it is enough to make angels weep. As the poet Blake said:-
`A captive redbreast in a cage sets all heaven in a rage.’
A great deal cruelty to animals is simply due to thought lessens and lack of imagination. People often inflict terrible sufferings on dumb creatures without meaning too be cruel. How many happy wild birds are caught and kept in small cages to please us with their songs!
People think nothing of it, and imagine that if they keep the bird well fed and its cage clean, it will be quite happy. But how can a wild creature which is used to flying in the sky in boundless liberty, ever be happy cooped up in a narrow space? If we could imagine what the poor prisoner felt, its pathetic songs in captivity would make us miserable with remorse rather than give us any pleasure.
We cannot excuse our cruelty on the ground of thoughtlessness. It is our duty to think; and no one who cannot enter into the feelings of an animal and sympathies with it in its weakness and helplessness, should be allowed to own one.
There is no time to discuss the question of killing animals for food. But if men must have mat to eat, it is their duty to see that such animals are killed painlessly. It makes one shoulder to think what tortures sheep and oxen have to undergo at the hands of brutal men in unregulated slaughter houses.
As to hunting for mere sort, it is always cruel. Fox-hunters pretend that the fox enjoys being hunted! I wonder how they would like it themselves! Cruelty to animals is almost more wicked than cruelty to men; simply because the animals are helpless and dumb.
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