The sad neglect and abuse of animals who give us so much

This weekend i took my family to an animal sanctuary in Essex (England)

Basically, this sanctuary takes in Animals that have been neglected, ill treated or abandoned. Once the Animals are nursed back to health the sanctuary looks for a new home where the Animals will be loved... if a home cannot be found they keep the Animals themselves.
It is a very open sanctuary where the, fit and well, Animal’s are allowed to roam freely among the visitors. My kids loved it... walking amongst the Goats, pigs and horses.

My son, who is two, got a little peck off of a chicken, which shocked him somewhat... And my daughter, who is ten, got her top chewed by a horse which made us all laugh.

However, after walking around for a bit and reading about the Animals and how they came to be there, Some of the story’s behind these Animal were very sad, i started to realise just how many Animals there was... well over a hundred... maybe as many as two hundred.

This is one small sanctuary in Essex... there are hundreds of similar sanctuaries all over Britain which really brought home the scale of Animal neglect and abuse in Britain.

One of the horses, Cagney, was an ex police horse who was put into retirement. Unfortunately the retirement home closed down so she was going to be shot... how said is that... her whole life spent protecting humans only to be shot by them once she was too old to do the job.

I am not a vegetarian or some nutter from peta... but i do believe this...

Animals give us food and clothes. They protect our homes, assist the blind, and offer us companionship. Animals help rescue people from mountains and find those trapped after earthquakes... They help keep vermin away and provide us with transport... they are key to our way of life. The very least we can do in return is respect them and treat them humanly during their life. It’s not much to ask is it?

If you get a chance. and like me you love animals, look up your local sanctuary... It’s a nice day out and any donation you can make will be warmly received. The sanctuary i visited cost £10,000 a month to run and is heavily reliant on donations and volunteers.

It doesn’t matter what country you live in... there are sanctuary’s all over the world. Its a chance to give something back to these creatures who give so much and ask for so little.

Peace.



Some of the Animals as the Sanctuary...


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[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/f9b1c9f7b92d.jpg[/atsimg]


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[edit on 13-6-2010 by Muckster]

One of my favorite quotes is a pretty thought-provoking insight from Pierre Troubetzkoy:

"Why should man expect his prayer for mercy to be heard by what is above him when he shows no mercy to what is under him?"

reply to post by Sink the Bismarck!


A poignant quote indeed...

I like it

Great post. Kindness to animals is a hallmark of humanity.

And the OP is correct, folks, it doesn't take much to help out - your local shelter generally accepts volunteers, most likely accepts certain brands of food, and definitely accepts checks. 2 out of 3 of these things require almost no effort; rather, they only require compassion.

And as Hunter S. said, "I respect them. Animals don't hire lawyers."

What a truly wonderful thread! I have adored animals since as far back as I can remember. I am like a child in awe and wonder. How could anyone abuse an innocent animal who is worthy of our care and love?

Excellent post.

I often wondered what other countries did for animals in cases like this, its great to see they have a place for them to stay.

Also great example for other parents on here, instead of taking the kids out to an amusement park, arcade, mall, etc, all the time, switch it up and take them to a animal shelter or sanctuary, they can play with the animals or volunteer some time if their a little older, make a small donation and everybody is happy at the end of the day.

In fables animals are people

And in reality people are

Animals



Though it is not entirely clear why

Comparison with animals is

Insulting



Probably

When “animal” is used

“Human trait” is meant




[edit on 13-6-2010 by DangerDeath]

I have always truly felt that pets are for life.
Meaning, don't toss them away when you get bored of them.

Pets are as much (or even more) social than we are.

Stories of abuse like this one www.huffingtonpost.com... are just hard to fathom. The guys in the video need to have e the same thing done to them. But then there are the good people who start non profits to rescue and rehab abused animals. Thanks for getting the message out that we can all do our part to help these animals.

My 6yr old daughter has Autism and animals are her obsession so,much of our time is spent seeking out places where we can spend time with animals.
Up until she was 4 she was largely non-verbal(she spoke in her 'own' language or just kept quiet)and she was a solitary soul,a loner in every sense of the word.
We recognised that she was drawn to animals and couldn't fail to notice her close relationship with our rescue dog.They were(and still are!)the closest of friends.
Around that time we decided to surround her with animals.....well,as far as is possible in a semi with a medium sized garden anyway!
We went back to the rescue centre where we got our dog and rescued some rats....then came the rabbits and the hamsters,the cats and the chickens,the giant snails and the fish and the frog pond.Her day changed dramatically as the family grew and....so did she.
I cannot begin to explain the powerful effect that these animals have had on her as the changes were huge but,she talks now(non-stop) and she is calmer and those are 2 of the changes that have really helped her open up.
How i wish i had that ever elusive lottery win!!It's my dream to open an animal sanctuary geared specifically toward 'special need's' kids and 'special need's' animals.
Animals,like people are so often forgotten once they've served their purpose.Our elderly people invariably end up in high back chairs in a home somewhere out of sight and out of mind(many with NO visitors)so,it doesn't surprise me that we have animals being forgotten too.
People are mis-treated and abused,as are animals.Very sad.

I'd love to give something back in a bigger way but,right now i'll have to settle for rescuing and caring for the waifs and strays locally,feeding the birds over the winter,giving the RSPCA their monthly money and treating any animals i'm fortunate enough to interact with my respect and love.

So glad you posted this Muckster
The plight of our forgotten pet's and working animals is something we all have a hand in and awareness is a wonderful,life-changing thing!



[edit on 14-6-2010 by TheLily]

reply to post by TheLily


What a wonderful story that illustrates perfectly why Animals are so important to us.

Animal are so therapeutic, even for adults... I think they act like beacon pointing us back to our long lost innocence and a time of wonder.

Very interesting OP. I was afraid to read it for the same reason I have to change the channel when commercials showing animal abuse comes on television but I am glad I did. The one thing I always dreampt of doing when I had the land and money was to start something like that. I hate to think that the only thing stopping some animals from meeting a cruel fate is having a place to go but thanks god there are some places for them to go. Thanks for sharing, bringing this up and the pictures. I think your point about the police horse says it best. People hold onto cars that do not work anymore more than it seems any cops cared about that horse. Sad.

Nice thread as always my friend.

How can we expect humans to care for animals, though, when we don't even love and care for each other. We live in a sad, and sometimes downright depressing world at times.. it's nice to know that there are others that do care.

S&F

We too are animals don't forget that and they have the exact same feeling as we do.
Fear to us is the same as fear to them
Love to us is the same as love to them.

MJ2

Forgot to say S&F

[edit on 14-6-2010 by majestictwo]

reply to post by broahes


Thanks Broahes

I agree,

There is a direct link between Animal abuse and abuse against people... It has been said that Psychopaths often start their journey by torturing animals.

I think that empathy is not just about people... it’s about all life forms and how you interact with them. I get upset with myself if i step on a spider

I am always wary of people who don’t like animals




[edit on 14-6-2010 by Muckster]

i generally abhor posts that begin with :

" starred and flagged "

but some issues just bring my blood to the boil - so :

starred and flagged

call me an animal [ pun intended ] but i am a firm believer in the principle of vigilante justice for people who perpetrate animal abuse

in short - give the bastards a good kicking - whey dont like it

reply to post by Muckster


Thank you for sharing this beautiful thread. It saddens me deeply when I hear about such incidents. Everyday the cruelty for animals is increasing at a rampant rate.

It is a sad world we live in. I have had better animals behave well than a human being. hell, you don't have to worry about their ego's being hurt.

reply to post by Sink the Bismarck!


I've never heard that before but it really moved me. Thanks for post that!


2nd

reply to post by Muckster


Excellent post, Muckster

I've seen pretty much everything that can be seen, thanks to the internet, for good and for bad (mostly bad, I'm sorry to say).

And the only thing that truly floors me is cruelty to animals. I simply cannot stand it and it gets me everytime.

I'm not a vegetarian, though at times, I do wish i was. But I have a deep appreciation for animals because of how much we rely on them; everything from food to clothing to medicines and medical research (makes me cringe).

For the most part, though not always, they are seen as nothing more than commodities.

Whenever Ive gone to a vetinary clinic or shelter for whatever reason, I always leave a £10-20 donation in the boxes.

I wish I had your strength to volunteer at the shelters but... I'm not strong enough. I'd become too emotionally attached and wouldn't be able to stop getting angry at those that abused the animals.

My hat's off to you, sir!