Helena on Animal Abuse

“We need another and a wiser and perhaps more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them (other animals) for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the sense we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren; they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of earth.” Henry Beston, The Outermost House. Animals need to be seen and revered for the true mystical beings they are. They deserve the same rights as humans in respect to their protection, health, happiness, and security. As they have no voice to declare this, it is our duty, privilege, and pleasure that see to their general well being, vitality, protection, and place in this world. Anyone found violating this right, should be met with equal punishment of any sensate being.
In living every moment of my life in the presence of animals since birth, I have come to know their mystical, reverent, and wondrous way of living. They are completely incapable of maliciously inflicting pain, and only kill to survive or protect themselves. “The brute animals have all the same sensations of pain as human beings, and consequently endure as much pain when their body is hurt; but in their case the cruelty of torment is greater, because they have no mind to bear them up against their sufferings, and no hope to look forward to when enduring the last extreme pain…” Thomas Chalmers, Scottish Religious Leader. Full of love, loyalty, and compassion, animals are the most innocent of all beings, more so than the race of man. “Of all the creatures, man is the most detestable. Of the entire brood, he’s the one that possesses malice. He is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to the other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot.” Mark Twain, American Novelist.
Of all domestic animals, their will is to please, to give joy, love, and happiness to their protector. Through my own personal experiences with horses, I have found them to be passionate beings, filled with overflowing love and compliance for their companions. I have seen them feel joy and sorrow, pain and anguish, pride and fulfillment, love and hope, fear and safety. They live to please us; filling our lives with such love that surpasses comprehension. “The more that people live with animals, the more they know how precious they are and what they do to enhance our lives.” Doris Day, famous actress and animal activist. “Cherish the wonderful ways our animals are models of living life to the fullest, loving unconditionally, embracing the passion within, and being completely in the present moment.” Susan White. With such overpowering, unlimited, immense love and gentleness, they deserve every right to life, liberty, and happiness just as we do. And yet we deny them this, or at least refuse to recognize them. Because of the silent language they use, and of our own incompetence to hear them, they are overlooked and pushed into the shadows by man. Because of man’s own ignorance, they have denied themselves one of the greatest gifts they shall ever receive. “The assumption that animals are without rights, and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance, is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality.” Arthur Schopenhauer, German Philosopher. Because mankind has refused to acknowledge their rights and freedom, they have been abused, mistreated, neglected, and overlooked, without any legal rights or voice to defend them.
We must return to being one with nature and its wondrous creatures, which is essential to protecting the delicate balance of our existence. We cannot live without them; we depend on each other for our survival. “What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, men would die from great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected.” Chief Seattle American Indian Duwamish Tribe. By turning away from nature and animals, we deny ourselves the greatest example of love and compassion. “Most people have forgotten how to live with creatures, with living systems and that, in turn, is the reason why man, whenever he comes into contact with nature, threatens to kill the natural system in which and from which he lives.” Konrad Lorenz, Naturalist. As stated by one of the world’s greatest inventors, Thomas Edison, said, “Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.”
It is not enough for us to turn our heads and be indifferent. Indifference is the worst sin we humans can make, for it tears at the very essence of humanity. “Take sides, neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” Elie Wiesel, Romanian-American Writer.
Abuse is one of the most horrendous crimes committed in today’s world. It happens everyday, whether it be a hurtful look, harsh demand, or physical injury. Abuse is the most common, overlooked, and unnoticed of all crimes. It does more damage than all the other crimes. It can leave its victim haunted, plagued, and tainted for the rest of their life. It is no different for animals. They will continue to harbor the painful memories of their suffering, and requires months, if not years of rehabilitation to heal the deep wounds inside them. Justice is readily brought down on human abuse, but what about animals? What protection do they have? Psychoanalysts’ studies have discovered that human abuse has steamed from animal abuse. Murderers, kidnappers, rapists, usually have begun their horrible careers by abusing animals. Robert K. Ressler, former FBI Serial Killer Profiler says, “Murderers… very often start out by killing and torturing animals as kids.” Saint Francis of Assisi, Roman Catholic Friar, founder of the Franciscans order says, “If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.” We can learn from one who gave her life in protecting animals: “The man who kills the animals today is the man who kills the people who get in his way tomorrow.” Dr. Diane Fossey, Woman in the Mists.

My family and I are prosecutors for the defense in the animal kingdom. We have witnessed unspeakable cruelty, and have on several occasions taken the necessary steps to have the victimized animals removed from the abuser. Each occasion met with a happy ending with the animal being placed in a loving home with all the rights they were entitled. However, we did not have the judicial support to prevent the abuser from obtaining another animal to continue his/her abusive wrath on another victim. Until there are laws to punish abusers, our society will continue to perpetuate more evil among man and give us no hope for the sanctity of God’s precious animals, and for character of man.
“A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred to him, that of plants and animals as well as that of his fellowman, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of help.” Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Alsatian Theologian, Musician, and Medical Missionary. Please help me in fighting their cause, in speaking up for those who cannot do so otherwise. Help and support them, take a stand against the cruelties of your own fellow beings of this earth, and thereby secure a better happiness on this earth for the sake of humanity, as well as the sake of these beloved, Godly creatures.