For millennia, man and animals have shared their daily lives. Whether they were the prey of hunter-gatherers or animals raised by our first sedentary ancestors, we have deep within us a need to bond with nature.

But for city dwellers in the 21st century, nature is often far, far away...

How do we compensate for this lack? How do we show children that concrete, tar and pollution are sad human inventions? How do we teach them respect for an environment which many of them only know through television?

An inspirational answer to this would be for them to be put in contact with nature as soon as possible, make them live - even if only for a few days - in harmony with the planet that witnessed their birth. This is totally possible, if we truly wanted it...

But, to try to re-establish this lost contact, many city dwellers have chosen instead to have pets. The most common ones are cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, rats, ferrets, fish, etc. while the more exotic range from tortoises to snakes, iguanas or even spiders. This new pet fashion is therefore responsible for the influx of wild animals which are threatening certain species.

Does an animal have rights?

A question that could seem to be of no use to many readers although it is often absolutely legitimate because of the way so many animals are treated. For example: the dog that remains locked in a small apartment from morning to night, birds kept in cages so tiny that they cannot even fly, etc.

The answer to the question ‘Does an animal have rights?’ is of course yes, they do, and the legislation of numerous countries furthermore has civil and even penal sanctions in the event of bad treatment of animals.

Why are animals abandoned?

The loss of the bond that has existed since time immemorial between man and nature makes some of our peers consider their pets to be things, treating them just the same as they would their TV set, telephone or microwave oven.

They buy them, ‘use’ them and when they have had enough, they ‘throw’ them away!

Dogs are tied to a tree on a holiday road or simply ‘lost’ before departure, cats are left in a garden, fish land up in toilets, etc... because they are considered as objects; too many pets have been sacrificed just for causing a slight inconvenience to their owners.

The holiday period is of course the time when the largest number of animals is abandoned.

How do we fight against the abandonment of domestic animals?

Ideally, each animal should have his ‘identity tag’ and a tattoo or electronic chip which will help its owner be located if it has been abandoned and which will also therefore be very useful if the pet has just being lost.

But, in a world where not all children are registered with the civil authorities, it may seem to be too ideal to hope the same will be done for all pets.

Again, the solution is in changing of mentalities and therefore practices, because we all know that each year the impact of man on nature is more significant, even tragic, we all have a responsibility to stop this journey towards the abyss, to preserve what we have not yet destroyed.

We can all do something, starting with respect for our pets, by considering them as living beings and not things, which feel pain and the lack of affection and have the right to be treated properly.

To see the cartoon on abandoned animals, click here

To do the quiz, click here

To play the game, click here

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