When it comes to animal welfare, there are a lot of good stories coming out, and a few horrible ones. This brings me to Obhoyaronno.
Some of the stories that have been shared by the great folks in this organisation are truly chilling to the bone. One such sordid tale is about Baariul Islam, an Uttara-based member of a local band and a self proclaimed artist, who decided to throw his wounded cat out of his 8th floor window, drown it, and then kill it himself, rather than take the humane option of euthanising it through a professional veterinarian surgeon.
The sad part is that this individual boasted of his cruelty on social media while many of his friends - ostensibly people from the educated classes - just shrugged it off. Obhoyaronno successfully persuaded Baariul to surrender the injured cat along with another adult female cat and her five newborn kittens that lived in his home.
Obhoyaronno also tried to get Baariul to sign a promissory note saying that he will never keep another animal again, but Baariul didn’t sign the note as he saw nothing wrong in what he had done.
Then there is the tale of a few veterinarians who openly advertise their services for unethical and unhealthy animal breeding practices, which inflict cruelty on animals while creating major public health nuisance.
When such educated people go to such depths in inflicting pain on other beings, it is little wonder that we stay silent, as folks on a lesser social plane engage in cruelty to animals on a larger scale every day in the Katabon market.
Cruelty to animals is hardly just a disgusting habit, but rather a clear and present danger to peace in society. There is no dearth of solidly researched and voluminously documented evidence from every corner of the globe that unchecked abuse of animals is a gateway to ever higher levels of violence.
The pathological condition that leads to such conduct, left unaddressed, reaches greater depths of depravity over time with the perpetrator targeting others who are perceived as weaker: children, women, the disabled, the poor, and the elderly.
Often, these are also the sick individuals who, emboldened by the anonymity provided by a suddenly coalesced mob, will visit cruelty and violence upon mere bystanders just because they can get away with it. Basic peace in society can hardly exist when elementary kindness towards animals does not.
Some of Baariul’s friends argued that he is mentally imbalanced, had problems with substance abuse and that he should be handled delicately. Many said that he must have had a difficult childhood and he himself was abused.
But the “poor victim” defence is an insult to all the abused who overcome the abuse and continue to do so daily so they can help end it! The idea that the abused become abusers comes from a study in the US in the 1980s.
One of the figures in it was that 80% of abusers were abused. That was the number that grabbed headlines, and left everyone convinced that being abused condemned the victim to become an abuser.
But there were two other figures that did not make headlines, did not make it into public consciousness or the social work text books. The same study found that 20% of the abused become abusers, while 80% do not!
In short, 20% of the abused are responsible for 80% of the abuse. Furthermore, it is found that the abused are vastly over-represented in the so-called helping professions, fighting abuse or helping its victims; but that is not publicised.
So the victims have to hide what they are, what they bore, because if friends find out, they see their attitudes change, given the way they pull their children or animals away.
It is not “often” that the abused become abusers: it is often that they become crusaders against abuse. For some it is harder than for others, but one should always remember that when the rage gets out of hand, and you want to kick, punch and scream, it is never ever directed towards a living thing! Smash down your beloved guitar or run a knife through your art pieces, Baairul, but never take it out on another living being!
I am no bleeding heart humanist or even an animal rights activist. As a former lecturer of international relations and a business analyst, my view of the world is that of a cold realist. It is precisely because of that kind of realism that animal cruelty bothers me so deeply.
Without social pressure and enforcement of existing laws, we miss a great chance in checking a disease at its early stages and, thus, pay a very high price when the toll reaches to include spousal abuse, pedophilia, and wanton mob violence.
It is said that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure; in few social settings is this nugget of wisdom truer than in cases of animal abuse. Ensuring the welfare of animals today significantly reduces the chance that there will be more victims of the two legged kind.
Don’t do it for dogs or cats or rabbits or fowl or cows, if you don’t like them that much. But do it for your parents, siblings, friends, and neighbours. By raising your voice against animal abuse, the life that you help may just be that of a loved one.
It takes a brave person to stand tall on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves. When you look at the mirror in the morning, do you see that person?
