Human well-being is connected to animal welfare

Keskustelun pohjaksi käytettäväksi englannintunnilla.

Humans have assumed the right to rule over the animal kingdom. Often animals are used for food production, in some cases they are used as work force, and then there are cherished companion animals.

Animals are not always treated with kindness and compassion. In some cases this is due to lack of knowledge, the wrong kind of information or, in some cases, lack of respect or compassion towards animals. Unfortunately there is still a lot of cruelty and abuse directed at animals.

Not all animals that are treated badly are mistreated because their owners deliberately mean to hurt them. Often it is simply because they do not understand how an animal should be taken care of. Sometimes it is a question of learned values and behavioural patterns.

In some sad cases the owner is taking out his or her problems on helpless creatures.

The following study points out the importance of education on animal welfare. The text was presented by Dr. Phil Arkow in June 2006 at a WSPA symposium in London. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) has about 700 member societies in 142 countries all over the world, among them the Finnish Society for the Protection of Animals.

Dr. Arkow's study reveals a lot about how violence emerges. All too often animals are the first victims, and what should be seen as a red flag or a warning sign is readily dismissed by parents and teachers as "boys will be boys" or "oh, it was only a rabbit".

Here is a brief summary of the results of the study:

— 31% of cases of intentional abuse against animals are committed by boys under age 18.

— 21% of intentional animal abuse cases involve domestic violence, child abuse or elder abuse.

— 70% of animal abusers also have records for crimes of violence, drugs, property destruction or disorderly conduct.

— 60% of families being investigated for child abuse also have incidents of animal abuse; the pets in these homes also bite people 11 times more frequently than in non-abusive homes.

— 71% of women seeking shelter from abusive partners report their husband or boyfriend having killed, harmed or threatened an animal. 75% of these incidents occurred in the presence of children. 32% of these women report their children had hurt or killed animals. The cycles of violence are truly intergenerational and handed down as malevolent family values.

— As many as 40% of battered women cannot seek shelter because they fear what their batterer will do to their animals, and women's shelters offer no foster care for pets.

— Because attachment to pets is a gender-neutral expression of empathy, caring for pets may be especially important for the development of empathy among young boys.

— High school students who have pets perform better on college entrance exams and have higher grade point averages.

— On a positive note, researchers have found that youths who have pets have a more positive self-image and higher self-esteem, are better integrated socially, have wider social networks, and are more popular among their classmates.

Consideration and compassion for animals is at the very heart of what it means to be human.

Would it be too ambitious to hope that animal welfare organisations one day would be obsolete? That they would not need to exist anymore simply because people all over the world would treat animals — and each other — with kindness, courtesy and appreciation?

Unfortunately this goal is probably still far away, but that doesn't mean that all of us couldn't on an individual basis work for the benefit of animal welfare.



Vocabulary
assume = omaksua, anastaa, olettaa cherish = arvostaa
lack of = puute
compassion = myötätunto
mistreat = kohdella huonosti
pattern = malli
behaviour = käytös
take out = kostaa jollekulle, purkaa johonkuhun
abuse = väkivalta
emerge = alkaa, tulla esiin
dismiss = hylätä
intentional = tahallinen
domestic = kotona tapahtuva
property = omaisuus
disorderly = häiritsevä
conduct = käytös
incident = tapaus
intergenerational = sukupolvien välinen
malevolent = pahantahtoinen
battered = pahoinpidelty
self-esteem = itsetunto
integrate = sopeutua
attachment = kiintyminen
gender-neutral = ei sukupuolisidonnainen
ambitious = kunnianhimoinen
obsolete = hyödytön, vanhentunut
appreciate = arvostaa