Only yesterday, I watched Amber Chia on TV doing photo shoots for PETA, undressed down like a tigress, followed by a petite PETA spokesperson talking about animals kept in captivity were not happy animals. I can’t talk on behalf of the animals kept in our zoos but I do know how it feels like being admitted in the hospital – it could drive you nuts when you are well fed and taken care of. Get the drift?
Today, TheStarOnline reported demise of the injured tiger, found caught in a snare in Royal Belum Forest by Perhilitan, a week ago (I wonder why they took a week to announce this). To read that he died due to infection and extreme stress after undergoing surgery to amputate its right foreleg really breaks my heart. Then, after reading Malacca Zoo does not have a vet, tears rolled down my cheek while I bit my lips in anger.
”People have got to understand that the commandment "Do unto others as you would that they should do unto you" applies to animals, plants and things, as well as to people. And that if it is regarded as applying only to people . . . then the animals, plants and things will, in one way or another, do as badly by man as man has done by them”~ Aldous Leonard Huxley
It is not that our Ibu Pertiwi does not have enough vets or sufficient number of Perhilitan personnel to patrol our forests. Unfortunately, our vets and Perhilitan personnel are unlike high-priority, knowledge-based workers like those in IDR. They draw paltry salary because they care for our endangered flora and fauna and our endangered flora and fauna are not cash-making commodities. Hence, this explains, partly, why our Tourism Promotion Board has not been able to turn in a single cent since 1976. Duh!
It is not that our Government does not have enough budgets for these lines of duty. They do have but they have been allocated imprudently to some enforcement body to buy some more vehicles so that we could reduce our crime rates. Please, I’ve seen too many patrol cars parked at many ‘balai’ while some cruising along our roads by some investigation officers (while many more cases are being thrown out the courts for lack of evidence). Double Duh!
Like many of us out there, there are some people in these lines of duty that work for the sake of making money, surviving a living, feeding some lives. How I wish we could ponder for a while – if we work because we want to provide for our loved ones, how about those souls we get in touch with while doing our works? Shouldn’t we treat them with care and respect just like how we would like others to treat our loved ones?
"Work is Dignity, It's not a Chore - It's a Calling" ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
That’s the sad, sad story of our Ibu Pertiwi. Just like how we bestowed posthumous awards to some ‘shakers and makers’ that transformed this Ibu Pertiwi to what it is today, we don’t know what we got till it’s gone…
“As custodians of the planet, it is our responsibility to deal with all species with kindness, love, and compassion. That animals suffer through human cruelty is beyond understanding. Please help stop this madness” ~ Richard Gere
Yes, let’s stop this madness! Let’s do our part!
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