Try This on For Size...

I am not a vigilante nor am I a fanatic but what gets me very annoyed and think that some sections of my community in Brunei should either go live in the stone age or be reborn as one of those poor animals that they take pleasure in mistreating or abuse or worse, torture... The question is why is there such blatant disregard to animal welfare and cruelty to animals? not to mention irresponsibility by some pet owners?


What brought this sudden rage? have a read of this article on Borneo Bulletin... http://www.borneobulletin.com.bn/weekend/news/jul24f4.htm


Here's some observations...

• Some people do not think that animals have feelings and that their lives are insignificant... I have seen drivers who purposely aim their cars at cats and dogs... and run them down... and when they did succeed, they are jubilant... =.='
• When there's a dead corpse of a cat, dog or bird on the road, drivers either drive around or over it... never proactive to find a solution to it... always expecting someone else to sort out the mess... 'not my problem', 'someone is paid to do the clean-up anyway', 'someone will call the relevant people to clean it up'... sounds familiar?
• Some people keep so many animals though they are not capable to look after them nor can afford to... simply coz' they feel it too costly to send their pets to the vet to be neutered... keeping pets come with responsibility... not only to feed them and give them a home but also their welfare... there are some people who think their pets are self-cleaning and self-healing machines... hence when unwanted kittens or puppies come into the world, they are abandoned at rubbish dumps or the roadside (did you know that some owners even abandon their sick pets too?)... expected to fend for themselves... did these poor animals deserve such treatment? would it not be better if the responsible thing of finding them homes be better? and if you really don't need such hassles, why not just have your pets doctored so that such problems may not occur in the first place? 

I would dearly love to see how these people would survive if they were to live the lives of the poor animals they have no disregard for... how would they like it if they get chased, beaten, kicked, run-over and most probably killed... worse if they ended up in someone's cooking pot? That could be an idea for a reality show... hmm...


All religions teach us to be good and kind... I would hazard a guess it would include treatment of animals and all things living... so where does that leave us and the poor animals who are mistreated through no fault of their own? bottom line is, it all comes down to us... the humans... if we do the right thing from the start, would we be having this problem?


I think we as a community has to be less 'me' oriented and try to see the greater picture... the excuse of ' I am just one person, how can what I do affect the situation?' is not acceptable... the Malay saying 'Sedikit, dikit menjadi bukit' tells us that with patience, things will happen... 


We should start with ourselves and make a change for the better by being better informed and constantly improve our knowledge... that will lead to a change in our attitude and behaviour... which in turn will lead to educating the people around us... the more people who are informed, the more change we can make which will eventually lead to a positive change in the problem or situation... we just have to persevere till the objective is achieved... 


The Animal Shelter in Brunei is doing their best with the limited resources that they have... often time, the volunteers dip into their own pockets to take care of the animals they have rescued... it is a NGO and unlike other countries, they do not receive government funding to keep going... so all the help that they can get in terms of donations and help would be greatly appreciated... even if you can't afford to donate money or food, you can donate your time or help with educating the people around you about animal cruelty and animal welfare... at the end of the day, every single bit of positive help will contribute towards reducing and eradicating this escalating problem of strays in Brunei.


In the BB article, it mentioned that countries such as the US have laws to protect the rights of animals... The R.S.P.C.A. is entrusted with the power to enforce the laws and protect all animals from harm and mistreatment in Australia, UK and US... it makes me wonder if we have similar legislation in Brunei? or is animal rights deemed too trivial to matter?

© Lires