Human hubris has devastating consequences

I'm currently reading Our Kindred Creatures by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy and confess that even though I've always had a dark view of human capacity for cruelty, lack of vision, and utter lack of brains, this book has rattled me to my core. Just getting past the first chapter was true hardship. Yet, I'm encouraging everyone to strap on and read this book. It's not just about animals and our relationship to them, it's also about our relationship to other humans and the very planet we live on. You can be the judge whether we are capable of change or not.

Though I knew that passenger pigeons were extinct by 1914 solely because humans made them so, I had no idea of the extent of the slaughter (five billion birds). It wasn't for survival at all. It was for sport. Just because. Bison would've met the same fate if some reasonable people hadn't stepped up and reined in the the the forces behind their mass killings. And when the reasons for killing millions of bison are explained, you'll truly wonder how people can live with themselves. During the same period, millions of wolves, bears, and other mammals were driven nearly to extinction before conservationists stepped in. And I won't go into the absolute cruelty of livestock like cattle, sheep, chickens, and pigs because that really hasn't changed.

What changes did occur were the result of the formation of SPCAs and their like. Though it was slow going and not perfect, Henry Bergh of New York modeled his ASPCA on the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in London. You might think he started out rescuing dogs. You'd be wrong there. It was horses and vivisection of animals for medical research. And when you find out why, it again makes you wonder how human beings can think they are supreme. 

The book gives a very clear and learned history of the forces of change in America, and that is encouraging, but it is far from over. It describes the rise of veterinary colleges and a more scientific approach to animal care. It talks about the very good steps toward laws concerning animal abuse and what actually constitutes abuse. Though it always takes decades to pass laws that seem a slam dunk, like banning steel-jaw leg-hold traps, the US persists in using them in all but six states (and they have exceptions). One hundred countries ban them outright. Why are we so behind? It wasn't until 2006 that California adopted a law which prohibits tying out a dog for more than three hours in a 24 hour period. EXCEPT -- and then they list the ways you can get away with that very thing. The majority of other states have no prohibitions for that at all even in searing heat or blizzards.

Of course, while the focus of the book is the US, worldwide, animal abuse is still prevalent and sickening. We need to focus on changing how we view our relationship with other creatures on the planet, and do it sooner rather than later. In fact, today would be good. 

After that discouraging news, here's a bit of a pick-me-up of two smiling faces: