Picture your toddler with burns covering his body, ear dangling, eye socket empty, unable to utter a sound as the pain is too great and he is near death.
Visualize your preschooler held down by his neck, kicking and screaming as he is being abused by adults for their pleasure, laughing as your baby cries in terror, squeals of agony burned into your brain.
Vivid enough?
Site after site of horrific images, brutal and horrendous treatment, abhorrent cruelty, all by those who receive a perverse sense of joy and pleasure, in my opinion, in these inhumane acts. All re-posted by animal advocates, Mother Nature's Heroes as I call them. People determined to do all they can to end the violence against animals, to end the destruction, to end the suffering of an innocent life.
As much as I want to educate and inform people of the conditions of wildlife and farm life, I have been avoiding writing this. To recall their treatment, their suffering, is extremely distressing to say the least and for much of the day I will be out of commission due to the immense sadness. Yes, this is real. Feeling the pain of their torment is overwhelming. Although not many people are like this, there are those few who, like me, feel for non-humans. Imagine that!
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| Elephants forced to perform, trainer with a whip |
I have learned how Elephants are trained for humans to have the "thrill" of an Elephant ride. They are ripped from their mothers at a young age and abused, whipped and stuck with metal prods, beaten and tortured over and over, broken until they submit.
I have seen videos of sweet innocent kittens being dangled by their tails, crying out in pain and then set on fire! I have seen videos of a scared little kitten tentatively starting to smell the hand of a "man" who is calling so gently and then...he raises his boot and kicks the kitten high into the air! Videos of fur burned from a puppy, raw skin blackened, eye damaged, ear ripped off. Videos of a puppy after the brutal attacks received from humans, pain filling her eyes, all four feet cut off! Tigers with teeth missing, torn from their mouths, de-clawed which quite often results in pain the rest of their lives. A baby calf literally pulled out of its Mother and allowed to smash the ground on its head and then be dragged away while the Mother is crying, calling for her child. Videos of the "King", the gorgeous lion, so emaciated he is unable to stand, ribs poking through his stretched skin as he lays on the ground unable to raise his head, waiting for death.How is this acceptable? How is this any different than if these heinous acts were committed against humans?
The stories and images out there are beyond comprehension. They are inhumane acts. They are committed by people with black souls, heartless and hateful to the core.
I could go on with my description of the torture from these despicable things, as I won't call them human, they can't be.
In regards to the treatment of farm animals, I have heard it all. The primary argument is "This is how it is/been done", and so on. The life of the farm. Actually, no, it's not a life at all. And whether or not this is how it is, it doesn't make it right. If people are set on consuming meat, shouldn't these gifts be treated with care and dignity? Is there a reason for such violence against those you wish to consume? For everything that happens to the animal including their food consumption and stress, meat-eaters will also consume. You are what you eat is 100% accurate!
I'm not going to get into the debate of meat-eaters vs. Vegans. I have my opinions. What I can say and will: watch the videos of how these farm animals are treated.
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Jeff Harrison, creator of Pedaling against Poaching. He is cycling to raise money to stop the poaching of Rhinos. I have learned so much from him, including how many species of Rhinos exist! An amazing person dedicated to making a change! Check out his Instagram: pedaling_against_poaching. Thanks for everything you have done to educate me! And Thank you for being a hero to these beautiful Rhino's!
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| http://www.wildcatsanctuary.com |
Big Cat Rescue located in Florida. They have done considerable work in rescuing big cats and helping to stop captivity, traveling across the country to save all species of cat from life in circuses, homes and zoos! They have guided tours of their facilities, post informative videos and have also helped me in educating my preschoolers. Thank you Big Cat Rescue for being a voice and teaching me about these magnificent beauties!
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Siberian Tigers
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Animal Defenders International, founded in 1990. They have fought to rescue animals from captivity including big cats, monkeys, bears and elephants. Please visit their website. The amount of work they do on behalf of wildlife is astonishing! From beginning to end they ensure the safety and long-term protection for animals. Their efforts are changing lives! Thank you for all you have done to educate and inspire others like myself! Words aren't enough!
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| http://conservationhalton.com |
Polar Bears International, Canadian Raptor Conservancy, Hope for Wildlife, Bear with Us Rescue and Rehabilitation for Bears, Dr. Jane Goodall, Shark Savers, Ocean Defenders, Jaguars into the Wild, The Dodo, Racing Extinction...there are so many wonderful people out there doing what they can to educate and protect and I'm honoured to have been able to talk to many of them!
Please note some of the rescues and sanctuaries I have mentioned have direct links to their websites under Friends of Mother Nature's Heroes on the side of this blog.
Now, for the sites that are posting and informing the public of the brutality. I have to say, I almost stopped following one of the pages due to the graphic images. I did message them and they made a good point. They agreed how horrendous the posts are and want people to realize what is actually taking place.
Animal News 123. Extremely distressing and disturbing videos. This is one of the sites I scroll past quite often due to the graphic nature of the videos. And these people are one of the reasons I'm changing my lifestyle to becoming vegan. The treatment of non-humans has caused such physical and moral unrest that I feel this is more than necessary. On their Instagram homepage their headline is: All Animals Matter! So true! If you would like to learn more about unethical treatment of life, follow their page!
Meat is Murder87. This page is another informative site. And another one where I learned about the vegan life and treatment of animals. They have sent me links to vegan recipes, answered any question I have asked and always been willing to educate and inform. Thank you for all you have done and are doing for our sweet non-humans!
I want to ensure all those who choose to read this blog that those heroes mentioned are only a few of the sites I follow. There are hundreds! I do want to point out, if you see a site with someone cuddling a wild animal, a tiger for example, they are not helping this animal but instead are participating in cub petting, an abusive practice solely for the purpose of profit and not for the benefit of the animal. Wild animals belong in the wild! Whenever I see a post of human contact, I continue to research and may contact the individual, sometimes with a nasty reply. Depending on their response is how I decide to support their project and educate my preschoolers. Big Cat Rescue and Wildcat Sanctuary have posted articles explaining why human contact is abuse.
Is human contact safe for all species of wildlife? In some cases, such as Elephants, I believe there is human contact at sanctuaries although I have yet to fully research these sites.
I am still learning, researching and asking questions! And it is because of what I'm learning that I am educating the younger generation. No, I don't show them the graphic videos. I never tell my preschoolers how people torture and murder.
My preschoolers know there are mean people out there who handle and hurt animals, wild and domestic. They know wild animals belong in the wild. They have learned when they see pictures of people holding a wild animal that they are "mean people"! They are learning the difference between those handling a wild animal for rescue and those who are handling to be mean. When we talk about mean people and hurting Mother Nature, they always say the mean people need to be put in a garbage can and taken to jail! Their words, never taught by me! So smart!
My goal in teaching these children is to hopefully instill the value of life, any life, into these young ones. They are learning to meditate and get the yuckies out so they can hear their heart and tummy, to calm their bodies and when they can do this, the animals may come to them as they have me. A start towards learning compassion for non-humans.
The young generation are much smarter than given credit. They have so much love and compassion. My favourite conversations with my preschoolers revolve around their desire to help Mother Nature.
I'm going to leave you with a comment from my almost 4 year old preschool student: When we do meditation we can help the mean people hear their heart.
Meat is Murder87. This page is another informative site. And another one where I learned about the vegan life and treatment of animals. They have sent me links to vegan recipes, answered any question I have asked and always been willing to educate and inform. Thank you for all you have done and are doing for our sweet non-humans!
I want to ensure all those who choose to read this blog that those heroes mentioned are only a few of the sites I follow. There are hundreds! I do want to point out, if you see a site with someone cuddling a wild animal, a tiger for example, they are not helping this animal but instead are participating in cub petting, an abusive practice solely for the purpose of profit and not for the benefit of the animal. Wild animals belong in the wild! Whenever I see a post of human contact, I continue to research and may contact the individual, sometimes with a nasty reply. Depending on their response is how I decide to support their project and educate my preschoolers. Big Cat Rescue and Wildcat Sanctuary have posted articles explaining why human contact is abuse.
Is human contact safe for all species of wildlife? In some cases, such as Elephants, I believe there is human contact at sanctuaries although I have yet to fully research these sites.
I am still learning, researching and asking questions! And it is because of what I'm learning that I am educating the younger generation. No, I don't show them the graphic videos. I never tell my preschoolers how people torture and murder.
My preschoolers know there are mean people out there who handle and hurt animals, wild and domestic. They know wild animals belong in the wild. They have learned when they see pictures of people holding a wild animal that they are "mean people"! They are learning the difference between those handling a wild animal for rescue and those who are handling to be mean. When we talk about mean people and hurting Mother Nature, they always say the mean people need to be put in a garbage can and taken to jail! Their words, never taught by me! So smart!
My goal in teaching these children is to hopefully instill the value of life, any life, into these young ones. They are learning to meditate and get the yuckies out so they can hear their heart and tummy, to calm their bodies and when they can do this, the animals may come to them as they have me. A start towards learning compassion for non-humans.
The young generation are much smarter than given credit. They have so much love and compassion. My favourite conversations with my preschoolers revolve around their desire to help Mother Nature.
I'm going to leave you with a comment from my almost 4 year old preschool student: When we do meditation we can help the mean people hear their heart.
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| We are all deserving of life, together |
All photos and images are the sole property of Michelle Boomer and Mother Nature's Heroes, copyright 2018, unless otherwise stated in caption.
