While I sleep, thousands of little creatures suffer in terrible conditions; their little heads are not at all on a comfy cozy pillow like mine.
Little puppies in cages small, trampled under faeces, dirty water, little food, or cheap food, sickness and disease, not one really caring, not a loving touch on just one head.
Never mind, how I sleep, I wonder, but how can the owner sleep, the owner of such cruel places, as puppy mills?
What kind of God awful sick mind could close an eye at night, and actually sleep knowing what misery he or she has created.
What kind of morally demented person, cannot feel their suffering all day and night, while laying their head on their pillow to sleep, if at all they have a conscience. I would think if their last hour came that night would it even then not bother them?
Puppy mills, or any other kind of mills for there are plenty by other names, exist in many places, but what happened in the province of
Quebec the other night, again, on the nightly news, stirred me to write this, for I couldn’t sleep knowing what is going on. This is not the first time that I am writing about the suffering of animals, I do it in spurts, it builds up in my insides and then just has to let go.
There are now approximately twenty two hundred puppy mills in Quebec alone, so I’m told, Les Quebecois are no more or less morally conflicted about suffering, then any other tribe on the American continent, so why then so many there? The only reasons I can come up with, are, the lax laws that apply to the issues of animal welfare, and how they are prosecuted.
I would not at all be surprised if, others from outside the province find it convenient to do their dirty trade there, knowing they would find reasonable sanctuary from the law.
Speaking of the law, leads me to the response of the Premier,
Speaking on TV, in an interview to a reporter, I paraphrase,
We changed the laws two years ago, and if we have to, we’ll do it again, this is all nice and sober, but the point is, having ineffective laws in the first place, is no guarantee, they be replaced again by more effective ones. If he knew, I would almost be certain that he did, that this was happening on the scale it is, and not acting on it, how in Gods name, he can sleep at night. He who sits at the levers of power, and with some political savvy and will, could change most of that suffering.
All this could be Initiated by the stroke of a pen, at midnight this week, or the next session of the legislature.
I guess what really impacted me, that in his facial expressions,
and answer there was, as I perceived it, an attitude of bothersome blasé. This is my perception of course, but judging by the apparent lack of motivation to right this terrible thing over the years, one can be forgiven thinking that.
What I ask again, knowing, if I cared, and wanted to be compassionate, that not be an immediate driving force, and prime motivator for alleviating all this suffering promptly.
Why does it take a federal law, and the International humane societies to finally close these places down?
I can only assume that these issues are not taken seriously in Quebec, judging from the cruel pictures I’ve seen, and the lackadaisical fine imposed, a few thousand dollars and some community service. This in itself says much, and leaves one with little or no hope for these thousands of poor creatures suffering, in the silence of a blind legislature, blind to the aggression toward innocent creatures.
In my immense anger at such uncompassionate resolve, I would like to take the whole legislature, or at least those who think the status quo is alright, lock them into tiny cages, with hardly food and drink, and let them rot in their own feces, along with those criminals who pursue these activities, and while they are rotting there in the heat and cold, have the animals sit in judgement over them. The only problem I could foresee, would that pet stores and the likes could not possibly sell such ugly creatures as they are, did I say problems, no, we could always put them down, just as we do with all the other unwanted pets.
Do I sound cruel, yes indeed, I can be cruel too, it’s a fact of human nature, but only if I am very angry, I do not make it in to and art form, or a commercial enterprise to accommodate my greed?
If we as human beings not want to lose our conscience and our status as an enlightened species, I would suggest that those who care, get of their hindquarters and protest strongly and with courage, in any way they can, be that in church, schools, communities, animal advocates, and finally more importantly, the next time you vote. Make it an issue, not a monetary issue,
Alternatively, other social issue, be specific, to have the laws changed promptly, speak to your favourite candidate now, before the next election, keep it on the burner as an issue, and keep the burner real hot, hot as the flames of hell, for you are saving your soul from it, if you know what I mean.
In waking thought, yours Jasmin Horst, E.P. Seiler,
22/11/2008
Georg
Far too many, I fear, especially these very sad days - and many of them are our so called 'leaders.'
Here in the U.S., we cannot rely on our politicians to act humanely in shutting down these profitable puppy mills; and I truly hope you have better luck doing that in Canada.
Here, we must continue our efforts to educate the masses about these abysmal puppy mills, and continue our attempts to get people to Adopt Dogs from Shelters, not Buy them from puppy mill pet stores.
And I'm re-posting another tragic Puppy Mill story for you today, my friend. And I truly wish we could both sleep better.
However, I fear, in todays economic crises and the daily horrors that go on amoung us, for those that have never felt the unconditional love given us by our four legged friends, sadly, their suffereing may seem inconenquental.
Mark Lichterman