KINDNESS TO ANIMALS
Man is a rational animal. He differs from the other animals by the possession of a quality called rationality. His rationality enables his to distinguish between right and wrong. That is, by virtue of this rationality he can know what is right and what is not. Man is, therefore, superior to animals. But his treatment towards them does not show him as such. He is superior to animals in knowledge. This knowledge, in which lies his power, has enabled him to make the animals subservient to him. So it is desirable that he should be kind and considerate to them.
Different kinds of animals serve us in different ways. The farmers cannot do anything without oxen. The cows and buffaloes give us milk which is the best of all the nutritious foods. The people who live in desert cannot do without camels because they are used for travelling and carrying loads.
The horse is another faithful animal. It draws carriages and carries load. In some countries it is even used in plough and the land. The dog is another faithful animal. It guards our house at night. It makes us alert about the thieves and any other danger. The people who live in barren areas where crops are not grown, rear sheep and goats for their earning. Of the wild animals, the elephant is used for riding and drawing heavy loads. Even the ferocious tigers, lions and bears are used to earn money for men. But do we show our gratefulness to them through kind treatment. The answer is a categorical No.
It is the children who are the unkind to the animals for the sake of their sport. They often treat cruelly with animals, specially the domestic animals, such as dogs, cats etc. They do not understand that what is sport to them is extreme torture or even death to others. The children should be made to understand that it is highly wrong to be unkind to animals.
The grown up people are no less cruel to the animals. They are often found to inflict inhuman cruelty to animals. The drivers of the bullock-carts and horse-carriages and the tillers of the soil are some of the living examples of inhuman cruelty to animals. These people are sometimes found to lash their bullocks and horses so cruelly that blood comes out of their bodies.
The animals are so serviceable to us. They cannot even protest because they are dumb. So we should always be kind and considerate to them.