Thanks to humanities long and complicated history with animals, we're still partway stuck in seeing animals as utilities. And while it may offend many who are religious, I'm not going to shy away from stating that I believe religion has played a large part in reinforcing our attitudes towards animals as lower lifeforms put here for our use and to be discarded at will.
This perception coupled with the the use of animals in sport, especially when it involves money in the form of betting, tends to lead owners to discard animals that are no longer profitable for them. While this story has come up due to the recession which has caused an increase in these mistreatment incidents, it's important to be aware that even when finances are aplenty, these sorts of barbaric practices do still continue.
It is the reason why I am very weary when it comes to condoning sports involving animals. Some do have good animal welfare, but many do not and attitudes need to change. It's a situation that's been fought by many people over the years and progress is slow. Those who seek to protect their "assets" usually wield more power than those who seek to improve animal welfare and are more often listened to.
A fundamental problem is that many people have been conditioned to respond negatively to people working in animal welfare, often seen as fundamentalist hippies who just want to spitefully take away our modern lives. It's an image I'm not thankful for, and is largely to blame on animal welfare campaigners themselves. While the intention of organisations such as Peta and the Animal Liberation Front are on the whole good, their heavy handed tactics and all or nothing attitude tend to be more of a hindrance than a help in my experience.
The best way in my opinion to solve these issues is to raise public awareness without resorting to blaming the very people we're trying to reach by claiming they are somehow responsible or complicit in these abuses.
This perception coupled with the the use of animals in sport, especially when it involves money in the form of betting, tends to lead owners to discard animals that are no longer profitable for them. While this story has come up due to the recession which has caused an increase in these mistreatment incidents, it's important to be aware that even when finances are aplenty, these sorts of barbaric practices do still continue.
It is the reason why I am very weary when it comes to condoning sports involving animals. Some do have good animal welfare, but many do not and attitudes need to change. It's a situation that's been fought by many people over the years and progress is slow. Those who seek to protect their "assets" usually wield more power than those who seek to improve animal welfare and are more often listened to.
A fundamental problem is that many people have been conditioned to respond negatively to people working in animal welfare, often seen as fundamentalist hippies who just want to spitefully take away our modern lives. It's an image I'm not thankful for, and is largely to blame on animal welfare campaigners themselves. While the intention of organisations such as Peta and the Animal Liberation Front are on the whole good, their heavy handed tactics and all or nothing attitude tend to be more of a hindrance than a help in my experience.
The best way in my opinion to solve these issues is to raise public awareness without resorting to blaming the very people we're trying to reach by claiming they are somehow responsible or complicit in these abuses.
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