when people attack
So after logging in i saw and then read an msn article about a bear that has starred in several advertisements and movies (the most recent being "Semi-pro") that during the filming of its latest ad had suddenly attacked its trainer for no apparent reason at all. The second paragraph in a line read there is no word on whether the bear will be put down or not. And this is where i take issue. Everytime i read an article about an animal attack (i'm not talking about rouge wild animals that have taken to hunting humans but those in captivity) the next thing after whose been attacked is either whether the animal will be put down or when. It pisses me off. Is the death tragic, undoubtedly so but people this isn't fluffy in the backyard this is a WILD animal- no matter how much you raise and cuddle it its still wild with wild instinicts and reasoning we can't begin to understand. No matter how many precautions are taken one is putting themselves in an unpredictable situation everytime they touch that animal. Yet as soon as something like this happens its "shocking and obviously the animal needs to be put down." Some of the people that would be all for this are the same ones that would protest against the death penalty for murder- so how exactly does that work out. That we shouldn't kill human beings who *know* better but its ok to put down animals according to OUR morality. Seems flawed to me. So we shouldn't kill others people because thats wrong but we have every right to kill any other lower species as we see fit- a little anthrocentric me thinks.
Just because it seemed to human understanding that the bear didn't have a reason doesn't mean that it really didn't. To be quite honest human beings are really the only animals (get upset if you want but we are animals) that do things without reason. The bear may not even have meant to do it, after all this is an 800 pound animal capable of causing great harm to our comparatively fragile bodies while not having any concept of how powerful it is. What is a play bite between two bears can very well rip someones throat out. And if this was the case, then if we put animals to sleep for accidental deaths then hey lets start executions for involuntary manslaughter. Honestly i'm not an advocate for animals having the same legal rights as humans but i am saying that as a race we're quick to judge things we don't understand and that judgement more often than not comes down to destroy it.
To me this bear did absolutely nothing wrong, it was acting like a bear- sure it was trained by humans but it was still a BEAR. Perhaps it doesn't need to be featured in films or in close contact with humans anymore but it certainly shouldn't be put down either. That almost instantaneous knee-jerk reaction in, i'll venture to say, quite a few people gets under my skin, yet talk about executing a serial killer and you'll have them protesting on the court house steps. Somethings definitely fucked up there....
Just because it seemed to human understanding that the bear didn't have a reason doesn't mean that it really didn't. To be quite honest human beings are really the only animals (get upset if you want but we are animals) that do things without reason. The bear may not even have meant to do it, after all this is an 800 pound animal capable of causing great harm to our comparatively fragile bodies while not having any concept of how powerful it is. What is a play bite between two bears can very well rip someones throat out. And if this was the case, then if we put animals to sleep for accidental deaths then hey lets start executions for involuntary manslaughter. Honestly i'm not an advocate for animals having the same legal rights as humans but i am saying that as a race we're quick to judge things we don't understand and that judgement more often than not comes down to destroy it.
To me this bear did absolutely nothing wrong, it was acting like a bear- sure it was trained by humans but it was still a BEAR. Perhaps it doesn't need to be featured in films or in close contact with humans anymore but it certainly shouldn't be put down either. That almost instantaneous knee-jerk reaction in, i'll venture to say, quite a few people gets under my skin, yet talk about executing a serial killer and you'll have them protesting on the court house steps. Somethings definitely fucked up there....