Let's Love Animals: the Way We Love Ourselves

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By Jessa Leianne M. Gamas, Junior Clinician,

College of Veterinary Medicine, University of the Philippines Los Baños

 

It is said that being a veterinarian is a very tough job. One needs to have the heart, passion and dedication to be one. A veterinarian’s patient does not say it feels something in its stomach that is why it could not eat nor it fed on something it is allergic to causing it to lose its hair. A veterinarian, with his skills, has to find out and solve the problem.

Every veterinary medicine student was taught how to diagnose and treat sick animals; put an end to the pain and misery of the dying and those impossible to cure; and even maintain the good health status of the normal ones. And with all of these responsibilities, the animal’s welfare is top priority.

Animal abuse is an undying global issue. And even before college, I was fully aware that there are animals being cruelly treated- devoid of food and water, physically tortured or killed, removed from their natural habitat for events or shows, animals left to die and more.

Learning is not always confined to the four corners of the classroom. A subject on ethics required the students to conduct free lectures and seminars to farmers on the common diseases of their farm animals. They were also taught how to treat diseases using the most economic method possible and how to prevent its occurrence. As a future veterinarian, I had taken part in some activities that helped spare the lives of unfortunate creatures. Experience is definitely the best teacher one could ever have.

The number of stray dogs and cats in the country had significantly increased. Animals left to wander off the streets, unattended by owners, continue to reproduce resulting to overpopulation. And with this situation, some animal welfare organizations and private companies had come up with spay and neuter campaigns where students are encouraged to volunteer as surgeons, nurses, and anesthetists.

Annually, vaccination drives against Rabies are spearheaded by the students of the College of Veterinary Medicine. Target areas are those where there had been high numbers of rabies cases or rural areas with a large population of dogs and cats. Vaccines are provided by some sponsors including the government and vaccination is free of charge. Lectures and seminars are also given to the pet owners for their awareness of the disease. In this manner, not only the animals benefited but the owners and the community as well.

Dog fighting had been a serious business for some. Recently, hundreds of Pitbulls were saved and are now in the care of an organization that helps victims of animal cruelty. The organization is gathering financial help, dog foods and medical help even online.  Many veterinary medicine students quickly responded and volunteered to help these dogs. Every single dog was given their vitamins and other medications and had their blood and feces collected and tested for any parasites or illness. The students were even the ones who analyzed the samples.

In the last two years of school, students are given hands-on experience in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital to give a feel of being a real veterinarian. And almost every time, euthanasia is the most interesting case being handled by the student clinicians. Animals which are terminally ill and have low chances of surviving are being euthanized. Death is induced by giving them a dose of barbiturates. This method may be heart breaking to owners but it is the most humane way to cut short the suffering of the animal.

Dogs are known to be man’s bestfriend, and together with cats, they are considered to be companion animals, as well as horses. These animals loyally serve their owners- keeping them safe, guarding humans and their properties, giving companionship and even work for them. Some dogs are even trained to guide blind people, warn humans of incoming seizures and serve as hospital aides to relieve stress people who are ill. These animals deserve equal treatment as humans receive. They should be provided with their basic needs such as food, water, good health, shelter and the tender loving care and attention of their human partners. If they could offer everything they have for us, why couldn’t we do the same?

 

 

An Estimated 9,000 Butterflies Disturbingly Died for an Art Show: On October 15, 2012, a British artist Damien Hirst has come under fire in recent days, either for killing too many or not nearly enough butterflies at a recreation for his 1991 exhibition In and Out of Love as part of a retrospective at the Tate Modern in London. About 9,000 butterflies died over the course of Hirst’s 23-week exhibition. The exhibition featured two rooms full of butterflies and each week it was replenished with approximately 400 live butterflies to replace those that died-some of them trodden underfoot, others injured when they landed on visitors’ clothing and were brushed off.

Numerous Live Animals Buried Alive in Korea: In year 2009-2011, pigs, cows, goats and deer affected by Food and Mouth Disease (FMD) as well as chickens and ducks affected by Avian Influenza, were buried alive in Korea. In fact, 60 dogs were buried alive at a farm where a cow had been affected with FMD. Activists from Korean animal protection group KARA estimate that, to this day, a minimum of 97% of all animals killed as a result of the outbreaks have been buried alive since November 29, 2010. From late November 2010 through mid April 2011, an estimated 3.5million pigs and cattle in South Korea were killed enmasse by order of the national government. The occasion was an outbreak FMD, a virulent disease of livestock that has a high mortality rate and can devastate agricultural economies. Nearly all of these animals were killed in the most terrifying manner imaginable: they were hastily trucked from their farms, dumped into plastic-lined pits, and buried alive.

 

* The above-mentioned animal abuse cases are excerpt from a discussion paper on animal welfare at the International Conference of College of Veterinary Medicine for the 60^th Anniversary of Chonnam National University, October 29, 2012.