The Straits Times
STI Home > ST Forum > Story
July 3, 2006
Stop cruelty to animals, stop the apathy as well
WITH another case of animal abuse coming to light ('Cat abuser nabbed again for hitting kitten'; ST, June 28), we need to remind ourselves of the importance of being human. On this, two fundamental values come to mind.
First, we have to stop the brutality and unnecessary killing. Yes, we will kill for food and to defend our country and we have the death penalty. But the challenge is to distinguish when killing is necessary and justified and when we should exercise self-restraint.
Deliberate and indiscriminate killing of animals is definitely not justified, and brutality and torture of defenceless animals can only be condemned in the strongest terms.
Indiscriminate culling of cats and birds in housing estates is no less abhorrent to our fundamental values. The issue is sanctity of life and our respect for this sanctity. The authorities need to recognise this and evaluate alternatives rather than embark on another culling exercise.
That some among us can seek out animals with no means of defending themselves for the sole purpose of perpetrating acts of unspeakable cruelty and viciousness is all the more reprehensible and repulsive.
The words humane and humanity are derived from the word human, but given the brutality and unnecessary killing that now seems to be second nature to us, these words may evolve to bear meanings that are the opposite of what we now understand them to be - unless we uphold our fundamental values.
Second, we have to stop the apathy. If we look at these instances of brutality and unnecessary killing taking place in front of us and do nothing, we are no better than the perpetrators. The collective conscience of the public who stood by and watched as others were sent to the gas chambers during the Holocaust is no more clear than that of the Nazis of the Third Reich. We must therefore make a conscious effort to distinguish right from wrong and stop those who indulge in meaningless acts of brutality and indiscriminate killing.
On a personal level, we have a responsibility to teach our children and impress on our friends and neighbours the need to respect the sanctity of life. At the society level, we have to reinforce our fundamental values through legislation and the judicial system.
Only when we can defend our fundamental values and understand the importance of being human can we hope to become the gracious society espoused by the Singapore Kindness Movement.
Chin Chiu Ngo (Ms)
