‘Stray’ Animals: The forgotten and abandoned breed
Growing up I have always been very fond of animals, especially strays. I remember being a child and was captivated by their playful and mischievous nature.
Our idea of animals growing up comes from the animals we have been seeing on the streets. Strays dogs and cats are everywhere in both the outskirts of urban and rural cities.
The sight of animals is endearing and heartwarming as their eyes are so innocent and captivating. We, as humans, tend to assume their role in the society and living as an animal is very uncomplicated and simple.
As adoring and innocent looking these creatures are, on the other side, in reality they are the voiceless sufferers of our society. With our increasing and advanced infrastructure we tend to ignore those whose only home is the streets.
The daily hardships and price of being a street animal
The hardships of living off of streets and discarded food seems not so simple and easy after all. These voiceless creatures have been suffering in silence and our lack of knowledge and awareness tends to make their lives even more miserable, as they are thrown into the harsh pits of our society as soon as they are born.
Living a normal daily life seems like a challenge in itself as they have to go through the utmost challenge of surviving as they search for waste food and landscapes from dumpsters and shelter amidst the unpredictable harsh and extreme weather, traffic , infrastructure and landscapes etc.
Not to mention the fact, many not only battles for themselves but also many have their babies to protect and feed. These vulnerable creatures navigate the world through their wide eyes and looking at humans or passerby in expectation of longing and a silent plea of help.
Relationship between human and animals:
The negligence and ignorance can lead to the way people treat them. For example, oftentimes I would see children throwing stones at dogs and cats, running after them or scaring them away.
This is due to lack of awareness, education and upbringing that creates these lack of compassion and empathy amongst people further creating gaps of understanding that animals are not supposed to be treated as toys.
These behaviors and treatments have repercussions which build fear and agony in animals in response of which they tend to be violent instinctively as in order to protect themselves.
The neglected breed:
Moreover humans we tend to find differences in breeds of animals as well, and how we treat them. Growing up I never could wrap my head around the fact that why street animals are treated indifferent as to other breeds of animals.
For example, in dogs, breeds like golden retrievers, huskies, German shepherds tend to be the most desired and expensive breeds. People would spend an insane amount of money to adopt and provide high quality food and comfort for these breeds.
However it seems nothing wrong in that, on the other hand I also feel the other breeds that are overlooked should be cared for as well..
Voicing the voiceless:Creating awareness and shelters
In order to create a change , we first need to show compassion, empathy and acknowledge our surrounding and local street animals. Change always starts from us, for example providing food, creating safe places, and treating with kindness.
Many organizations in Bangladesh are in the mission of creating safer places and healthy lives for animals. One of them are:
Building vets is also necessary as they can be in danger of a lot of diseases ,moreover accidents are also common in them as they tend to be exposed to reckless driving , harsh weather etc.
Lastly, I truly believe that we should treat them with kindness and empathy as they are also a part and contributor to our society .
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