".... there is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to man and beast, it is all a sham...." Black Beauty, Chapter 13, last paragraph.
Today I wrote a little letter to the New York Times editors re their defense of continuing the horse drawn carriage trade in New York City. Here is my very simple and succinct letter:
To the Editors of the New York Times:
I have only one question for those editors who see nothing wrong with continuing the horse drawn carriage trade in New York City. Would it be all right if you were one of the long suffering horses who have to pull carriages on the much trafficked New York City streets in all kinds of weather? Of course, New York can have harsh winter snowy days and brutally hot summer ones. If your answer is yes, then you may well have a legitimate crusade. If your answer is no, then obviously your editorial in defense of these horse drawn carriages is ill-conceived and has no merit. I and others care about suffering horses, and we believe the horses suffer and are treated inhumane in this archaic tradition. It should be discontinued on the grounds of it being animal cruelty.
Sometimes people are criticized for being too sentimental and commiserating with how animals are treated, but why should those of us who care about animals and object to their being treated cruelly be excluded because of our compassion? God made all of us, including animals, birds, fish and every living thing. He created the Earth and all of its creatures and He pronounced that they were good. Humans should show concern, compassion and love for all of His creations.
There are many acts of cruelty towards animals that people defend because of "traditional values". Bull fighting comes to mind which is defended in countries such as Spain and Mexico as part of their tradition. I also put greyhound racing in the U.S., horse fighting in the Philippines and co*k fighting are considered sports. In China, South Korea and Thailand dogs suffer in horrible torture before they are consumed as food. Animals suffer tremendously in rodeos while pretend "cowboys" cheer but do not see the suffering that goes on out of sight. All of these barbaric "traditions" should be stopped because of the immense and unnecessary animal cruelty.
I receive daily news and emails about animal cruelty that takes place all over the world. I first became concerned about animal cruelty in 1975 after experiencing the love and affection from my first puppy named Peaches. Peaches taught me that all animals have emotions and feel pain as well as love. Peaches was the inspiration of my concern for animal suffering.
For those of us who care about animals, we try to do what we can to alleviate their suffering, and make others aware and care about animal wellbeing. Too many people think that animal suffering is unimportance. It especially saddens me when people who say they believe in God and the story of His Creation when they have little regard for animals. But thank God there are many people who do care and there are organizations which do all they can to help stop animal cruelty wherever and whenever it is found.
There are people who will criticize me and others who have this compassionate apostolate. Some tell us that we should be more concerned about human suffering. I truly believe that one cannot care about human suffering without caring about animal suffering too.
God bless Mayor Bill de Blasio who is trying to stop the suffering of horses in New York City. There is nothing romantic or traditional about allowing horse drawn carriages to continue when it cause so much pain and suffering to the horses. Naturally, they mayor is having a lot of opposition from those that profit from the suffering of horses, and those that think it is a legitimate part of New York City history.
Yes, buggy rides have been romantically portrayed, and even glorified by Hollywood. And yes, perhaps at one time it was even a necessary means of transportation, but today we can bring relief to these poor horses if we have but the will and the heart to do so.
Sincerely,
Suzana Megles
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