Even
though reptiles are not my favorite animals, I believe- as part of God's creation we owe them respect and compassion. Of course, I was not too
happy with them recalling a 60 Minutes episode some years ago. They showed the yearly crossing of a herd of wildebeest in Africa attempting to cross a
crocodile-infested river. My heart sank when I saw one of them being caught in the
jaws of a croc. Certainly, there must have been many more who were caught, and sadly this balance of nature thing leaves me much upset. But nobody can
change it. And though I don't like crocodiles or alligators, I do not subscribe
to any cruelty to them either.
Before I go any further, I remember someone commenting in my last post re
my horror that there was such a thing as a Yulin Meat Festival in China where
dogs are brutalized in the capturing, caging, and finally being cruelly slaughtered
for food. He thought I should be more concerned about human suffering. I think as human
beings we should be concerned about suffering to any living being- whether human
or not. His remark also reminded me of something I had been told years ago. That
the people who care about animal suffering will most likely also care about human
suffering. But
sadly, the reverse is seldom true.
And then yesterday I read David Kirby's post on TAKE PART. It was entitled
"Fashion Don'ts: Alligators Allegedly Tortured Before Being Killed and Turned Into
Luxury Handbags." Of course I was crestfallen. Here again I would read about
another cruel exploitation of our fellow living creatures who should not be treated so
ill- and especially for frivolous items like luxury handbags or shoes. Fashion "needs" should
never be cruel,
but of course they often are. Consider too the wearing of fur coats by
which innocent animals are divested of their fur often in cruel ways. I loved someone
saying -- the fur coat always looks better on its original owner.
Per Kirby- Peta sent investigators to go undercover to document what it
says is abuse of alligators and crocodiles in Africa and Texas. (I one time read that Texas
was also involved in cruel rattle snake round-ups).
These Peta undercover investigators were sent to a reptile farm owned by
Padenga Holdings in Zimbabwe. They also have a 50 percent stake in Lone Star
Alligator Farms in Winnie, Texas. When harvested, the alligator and crocodile skins are
sent to a tannery owned by the French fashion giant Hermes. Here they are turned
into handbags, watchbands, and other fashion goods The Hermes crocodile handbag requires
two or three skins to make and can cost as much as $79,500. Imagine making a
fashion
statement which costs the cruel killing of 2 or 3 alligators or
crocodiles.
Also, consider that the almost $80,000 cost of the handbag would be better spent helping
the starving children of the world.
The slaughtering techniques are cruel. One Peta investigator observed:
"....alligators were shot with a captive-bolt gun or crudely cut into while they're still
able to feel pain." Another investigator observed workers cutting into the necks of live
alligators and inserting rods into their skulls to scramble their brains and dislocate the
animals' vertebrae.
Who are the real beasts? I think Roxi who commented on this Take Part site
summed it up pretty much -at least for me -- and maybe for you too:
"We are beasts. Crocodiles survived the dinosaurs, and the 6 mile
asteroid, but perhaps they will not survive us. So my question is: whose the real monster? It
is our responsibility to educate our kids, sisters, brothers, Mothers and Fathers, friends and
anybody we can get to listen to us. The vanity and narcissism of our times cannot hold against
the reality of
the state of our planet. We have to get a clue and soon. Tell everyone
you know about the crocs, whales, dolphins, orangs, turtles, wolves, bees...you know all
of the life that truly supports life. Once again we are not necessary to the health of our
beautiful earth. We do nothing positive here, and in the last 3-400 years we have been unraveling
the fabric of life. It's like we are on a mad mission to kill everything."
Well, Roxi is really disenchanted with our stewardship of mother earth, and
I basically agree with what she said. However, she failed to mention the terrible existence
of factory farms where our poor farm animal languish in squalor and suffering- never
enjoying movement or breathing in fresh air. We make them prisoners so that we can feast on
their flesh and products. Isn't this so?
And on the subject of fashion, I believe this past winter saw many people
buying down jackets and coats. Did they know that the down is plucked from the breasts
of LIVE geese and that their chests become one bloody hurtful mess? It is like if
someone pulled out the hairs on our head. I am so glad that I still wear my coat of fiber fill
from the 80's. Obviously, I am not into fashion, but I am in to compassionate warmth. Next time you
shop for a winter coat -I hope you too will be satisfied with a fiber-filled coat.
