Don't be cruel

I have always believed that people who are kind to animals are also those who are most kind to people.

But life has taught me that this isn’t necessarily so. There are many wonderful people I know and they don’t own pets. I have also read a book on the lives of criminals who were pet owners.

I guess what is true is that pets don’t judge their humans; they just love them. No matter what.

And how.

Yet, it really bothers me when I see any act of cruelty done to an animal — no matter how small.

“If you want to kill a cockroach and not be cruel in the process, kill it in one hit,” said Joey, a fellow pet lover.

He told me this after I had tried to stop him when he was about to swat the life out of a cockroach.

I know, I know: cockroaches, rats, bugs — they are such filthy creatures. But I still have a hard time ending their lives.

I remember watching an episode of Kung Fu starring the late David Carradine when I was much younger. In this episode they showed how the monk, who Carradine lived with, shared their abodes with cockroaches and other bugs.

I guess the lesson stuck. Treat all creatures with kindness and kindness is what will return to us.

Perhaps, perhaps.

This week I share with you two e-mails I received. One good news, the other not so good. Let me start with the not so good.

* * *

“The UP tribunal has ruled that Joseph Carlo Candare is not cruel,” lamented Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) director Anna Cabrera. “In their decision the tribunal dismissed the case against Candare.”

Candare is a BS physics major in UP who earned the ire of many animal lovers — and consequently many animal rights groups — for bragging on his blog about how he tortured a cat on UP Campus. 

Excerpts from the blog are as follows:

“I pulled it on its tail and threw it. Then like some pro wrestler I jumped on it and my feet landed on its torso. Slam! Felt good!

“It feels good when you’re beating it (a cat) up but you suddenly feel something strange when it turns off permanently. That’s how I feel right now. And maybe for the next days. Dang, am I a cat serial killer?

“This isn’t the first time I’ve killed a cat but this time it’s different. It didn’t occur to me back then that the cat had a leash. So I think somebody owns it. Well, it’s very well loved in NIP from what I heard and I just ended its life. So there you go; I’m sorry. And I won’t be striking another one for maybe about a month.”

* * *

Because of what Candare blogged, questions about his state of mind cropped up. That is why it has come as shocking news that the UP Tribunal has passed the decision declaring that the action of Candare did not constitute “misconduct.”

The UP Student Disciplinary Tribunal, in its two-page decision dated Nov. 5, dismissed the case filed against Candare, a BS physics major of the UP College of Science, for allegedly deliberately stomping a kitten to death last April 13.

Pathetic.

“It is worrisome when a university declares that there is ‘no misconduct’ in killing a helpless kitten in plain view of fellow students right within the school premises,” said Nancy Cu-Unjieng, president of Compassion and Responsibility for Animals or CARA, the animal welfare organization that filed the complaint before the UP Tribunal.

“It is a dangerous precedent,” added Anna. “What message is the tribunal sending out? Basically, it is implied that students can openly hurt animals and not face any consequences for their actions. We think that it is deplorable and shameful for an institution not to strongly condemn acts of animal cruelty.” 

 The three-member UP Tribunal composed of Ma. Crisanta Flores, Ma. Theresa Payongayong and chairman Jonathan P. Sale further stated in its Resolution that while “it is true that Section 1 of the (Rules and Regulations on Student Conduct and Discipline) RRSCD states that, as the basis of discipline, ‘a student shall at all times observe the laws of the land…’ and that part of the law of the land is Republic Act No. 8485 (the Animal Welfare Act), Section 6 of which makes it unlawful for anyone to torture or maltreat animals; and that what Candare did to the kitten clearly constitutes maltreatment, if not outright torture... not all violations of laws are actionable misconducts.”

“Candare’s actions — deplorable though they may seem to some, if not most, people — do not constitute any misconduct actionable under University rules.

“Consequently, it is thus respectfully recommended that the Tribunal dismiss the instant complaint.”

* * *

For the information of “Pet Life” readers, a violation of the Animal Welfare Act is considered a criminal act punishable by six months or up to two years imprisonment or a fine ranging from P1,000 to P5,000.

It is a sad day for animal welfare in the country. While recorded prosecutions under this special law have been few since its approval in 1998, PAWS, who spearheaded the lobbying of the law, is slowly making headway by helping an increasing number of ordinary citizens file cases against animal offenders in court.

There is still hope, though. Even though the UP Tribunal has dismissed the case, PAWS has filed a criminal case against Candare before the QC Hall of Justice where the case is pending resolution at the QC Prosecutor’s Office.

Let’s pray that Candare gets what he deserves. If you ask me, he deserves a kind of punishment that I would prefer not to state.

* * *

 Now for the good news.

Thanks to a tireless and dedicated campaign by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in India, the Central Zoo Authority of India (CZA) has made the decision to ban zoos and circuses across India from keeping elephants.

PETA reports that elephants currently held in Indian zoos will be transferred to undeveloped areas controlled by the Indian Forest Service and will no longer be kept in chains. This is a massive step forward in efforts to end the captivity of animals in zoos and other forms of entertainment around the world.

It has been reported that recently, representatives of PETA’s affiliates traveled to Europe to give everyone the inside story on what goes on in the world’s biggest circus — Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey — before their first-ever tour of Europe began.

PETA reports that because of their work, the circus faced rock-bottom attendance at the first venues and had to cancel all their performances in Germany and Spain.

And then there is the issue of life in zoos.

PETA says that in their natural homes, elephants form complex, lifelong social bonds and stay with their families for life. They travel vast distances — an activity that is essential for their physical and mental well-being — and thrive by caring for one another, teaching their babies how to survive, warning each other of dangers and sharing food.

Compared to an elephant’s natural habitat, zoos — no matter where they are in the world — cannot and do not provide anything close to what elephants need. Invariably, elephants in zoos spend their entire lives standing or shuffling about in relatively barren enclosures, sometimes without even a blade of grass or a tree, sometimes all alone or paired with one elephant with whom they may not even get along. With their natural herding instincts frustrated, they go insane from the lack of exercise and social contact.

At the Aurangabad Municipal Zoo in Maharashtra, a PETA India investigator found elephants confined to a small bleak concrete enclosure. All the elephants were kept chained, and one was tethered by both front legs with a spiked chain that painfully prevented him from moving more than a few shuffling steps in any direction.

The CZA’s compassionate decision means that no more elephants will be forced to live out miserable lives behind the locked gates of India’s zoos.

* * *

Back here, I continue to be an advocate against keeping animals in zoos, fish in oceanariums, dolphins in enclosures for shows.

I continue to pray that one day we will all be free — both people and animals.