Op-Ed: An Animal Activist Versus Rest of the World

(Based on a true story)

“So, What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“I want to work for the welfare of animals of all shapes and sizes.”

“Very good. Now, tell me what do you want to BE when you grow up?”

This is the response I used to get when I was a little girl trying to discover my roots. I had a long line of friends creating their wish list for the future and amending them every single day. Their skill for manipulating the list made me apprehensive. It was like they knew exactly what they wanted at that exact moment in life. For me, oh yes, there was a list, but nothing was for sure. The calculations were mismatched; the amendments were hasty shifting from journalism to photography. When I decided that I wanted to be involved in animal activism, there were definitely some eyebrows raised followed by series of awkward conversations. My parents presumed it was all a temporary thing, a gesture of rebellion or rather a sematic outburst.

When I became a vegetarian few years later, there were deliberate attempts to bring me to the so-called status quo. It was not an act of compulsion for me. It came naturally. At first, I didn’t know what to call it. It was this sudden emotional revelation mixed with anger, thirst, sympathy, love and a resolution to work for animals and their rights for the rests of my life. I finally found my calling.

For years, I tried to communicate to people about the rights of animals through presentations, arguments, examples and improvisations. There were those who were kind enough to let me in. Few were deeply moved by my emotional monologue and agreed to be as concerned towards animals as they possibly could. Then there were those who greeted me with cynical dispositions.

“Animals are meant to be eaten because they are inferior to us. Even in our religious books (pages#to#), there are accounts of goddesses and gods feeding on such animals because of their ignorance.” ~ my father’s aunt

“There are millions of human beings suffering in the streets of Kathmandu. If you want to do something, do it for those people not for the damn animals”~ my NRN (non-resident Nepali) uncle

“If we don't eat animals, there will come a day when the animals will rise and eat us. The law of jungle you know.” ~ A paranoid friend who strongly believes that goats, sheep, cows and buffaloes will evolve into strict carnivores if we don’t eat them now

“Being a vegetarian will lead to diseases and you will become so weak from inside that you will develop conditions of unbearable proportions. Besides, if you offer animals as sacrifice to Gods, they will be happy and grant you whatever you desire.” ~ my "wise" cousin brother

I practically grew up listening to these accusations and it still does not waver me. The more people made these types of remarks, the more I felt the strong conviction to advocate vegetarianism. It actually made me feel stronger and pushed me further into becoming an animal activist for life.

To those accusations, my response is this:

Being a vegetarian has made me healthier. I sleep well, eat beautifully and feel strong from inside. I don't have to worry about bird flu or intestinal parasites. The high fiber vegetarian diet with anti oxidants gives me nutrition to sustain my metabolism. Most of all, being a vegetarian gives me peace. These are only a few positive aspects of being a vegetarian.

I don’t believe that Gods and Goddesses will be happy by seeing their children killing others in their names. If so, all the people who sacrifice animals or follow ritual killing would be successful, happy, prosperous and healthy. I, on the other hand, because I don't follow such killings, definitely would be diseased, poor, unhappy and deprived of everything wonderful. I doubt that.

Humans practice horticulture and animal breeding, and so there is no excuse for not controlling it. Millions of animals like cows, buffaloes and goats are bred by people for dairy production and meat consumption. The amount of methane generated by fodder, the number of vehicles used for transportation of fodder, the amount of food generated to feed these animals and let us not forget, the inhumane conditions these animals live in is just plain ridiculous. If we are concerned about what would happen to our ecology if we stopped eating goats, then stop producing them. The livestock bred for the purpose of meat consumption is controlled by the people involved in the whole business of meat farming. For those who are troubled by the possibility of the population of humans getting outnumbered by these livestock, I have two words for you: family planning. With proper measures of family planning, the population of these animals can definitely be controlled.    

If we were to talk about ruining the balance of the ecosystem, we could start by talking about the destructive affects of cutting down forests, emitting high harmful gases, killing useful insects and birds through pesticides and experimenting on animals in the name of medical tests. The list goes on. If we were to talk about evolution, let us not leave out the fact that everything is inter-connected.  Trees absorb excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in order to survive. They store the carbon dioxide throughout their lifetime, which are known as carbon sinks. Cutting down trees in the name of civilization destroys natural carbon sinks. Do you remember being taught in school not to sleep under a tree at night? This is because trees and plants emit carbon dioxide at night, balancing the structure of nature. This small amount of carbon dioxide can be toxic for humans so you can only imagine the amount of carbon dioxide emitted when trees are cut. The natural carbon dioxide reservoirs, when chopped down, release harmful gases in an unnatural order, contributing to the infamous global warming.  In addition, when forests are cleared, wild animals lose their habitats. The constant clash between humans and wild animals are the result of our greed. The population of butterflies, bees, frogs and many more are declining. Without these beings, there is no pollination and cleansing of mosquitoes and flies. Imagine a world where flowers are extinct and our lives are basically ruled by mosquitoes. The mighty tigers, the beautiful gazelles, the intelligent elephants, the humble hog; these amazing beings are widely endangered due to human actions.

It’s that simple.

I’m an animal activist, which means I fight for the rights and welfare of animals. I fight for them because they cannot fight for themselves. I believe that animals have feelings, thoughts, families and soul. To rob anyone of these is nothing but an act of arrogance and cruelty. I condemn such cruelty and advocate for the free will of animals regardless of their shape or size.

And when one has a strong desire, the right opportunities seem to knock on their door. It was a sheer coincidence that brought me to Animal Nepal, a non-profit organization working for the welfare of animals and advocate of animal-related issues. A day of boredom led to random searches on animal welfare organizations in Nepal, and there amidst hundreds of searches and after a few phone calls, I officially became a member of Animal Nepal.

Animal Nepal has been working for various issues concerning animal welfare and rights. I became actively involved in the ‘Save the Nepali Monkey’ campaign. This campaign advocated the welfare of Nepali monkeys caged to be exported to America for various tests in laboratories. The Nepal government canceled the exporting after continuous pressure from national and international animal welfare organizations. Monkeys are social beings like humans. They have their definite territories, eating habit and social structure. Rehabilitation is the most important factor before releasing the animals from such laboratories. Unfortunately, due to the ignorance of the government, hundreds of monkeys were released without prior notice. The reason they presented was lack of funds.

Some causes like the above get tangled in bureaucratic details while others move in a slower pace, but still manage to make a huge difference in the lives of a handful of animals. In a country like Nepal, amidst the chaos of stagnant mindset and ever changing political structure, a small change amounts to a lot, especially when the programs are not well funded and frequently greeted by behinds of most of the ‘social’ people, who turn a deaf ear to the cause related to animals. 

Animal activism in Nepal is fairly new. We have seen cases of few individuals coming to the aid of tortured animals and international organizations working for the benefit of animals. However, there have not been substantial changes in the status of the animals in Nepal, both wild and domesticated.

There exists the Animal Welfare act of 1975, which does not incorporate the holistic plight and issues of animal rights but rather inscribes meager details of how this nation should curb the situations of animals. This is nothing more than a documented and politically inscribed piece of paper. At present, the whereabouts of this act is rather debatable. Our research tells us that it is pending in one of the ministries in a desperate need of amendments.

At times I wonder since when did human beings start to become so cruel and clueless? Even if the Act gets approved tomorrow, does this mean that people will stop treating animals like worthless beings? The act, if passed onto becoming a law, will definitely send out signals of warnings to those who participate in illegal wildlife trade and to a certain degree, control the over consumption of meat products through organized systems. However, this act alone is not enough to get people to understand or become interested in the heinous condition of animals today. 

Being an animal activist does not necessarily convert the person into becoming a vegetarian. This desire has to come from the heart. However, we can start the process of at least treating animals well. The condition of slaughterhouses in Nepal is unimaginable. Try picturing yourselves being tied to a short leash without being any access to water or decent food, while you watch and hear your fellow beings getting dragged and slaughtered right in front of you. To add to the error, you realize that you are next.

It is very important to position us in their place to get a glimpse of what it must feel like to be treated in such a horrific way. And still we choose to call ourselves human beings. It is ridiculous. It is true that our culture itself promotes the practice of animal sacrifice. It also preaches inter-caste marriage, untouchability and discrimination in the name of religion, caste and gender. It all really comes down to one thing—enlightenment. How enlightened are we that we don’t even know the difference between tradition and greed? It is not a matter of principle or dogma or belief. It is rather a question of self-realization, self-awareness and simply a matter of empathy for our fellow beings.

This is an open letter to all those who wish to work for the welfare of animals and advocate for their rights. It is true that becoming an animal activist is far too difficult in a society like ours, where in the name of religion, animals are slaughtered. I am a follower of tantra and I know that what the books tell me is amended by discourse. The actual tantric scriptures hold human sacrifice as the foremost and compulsory ritual to please Gods. Although such cases are still practiced in seclusion in few places around the world, human sacrifice is considered to be illegal. Isn't this hypocritical? I am not opting for inclusion of human sacrifice but if slaughtering animals were for religion and cultural practices, why not human slaughtering as ritual?

From my experience, I can tell you that to become an animal activist in Nepal, it is definitely vital to have a strong family support system, which I thankfully have, a knack for public speaking and a powerful will power. But, if you don’t, you can still become an animal activist because your fellow activists end up becoming your family.

As an animal activist, I do not wish to find loopholes in society to criticize or to prove my point. I believe that animals of all sizes and shapes have feelings, thoughts, families and soul. To rob anyone of all the above is nothing but an act of arrogance and cruelty. I condemn such cruelty and advocate for the free will of animals. Being an animal activist is extremely difficult but I grow stronger by the day. I know what I am doing is for the animals all around the world who deserve their place in the world.  I am an animal activist because I respect Mother Nature and all that she has created. I am an animal activist to remind people that we are not the only ones living in this world.

Next time you visit a zoo, remember this. When you see an elephant tied and abiding to the orders of those who feed him, or the bear dancing to the tunes of a 'madari', (a person who makes the bear dance on songs or music esp. in India) they are not simply following your orders because they feel inferior. They do it because they are humble and kind and have found an understanding of something extraordinary about nature, that we, humans haven’t. We cannot afford to be apathetic. We need to remember our roots and our ancestors and the long line of civilization. We are children of God, the same God who created the earth, the sky, water, humans and animals.

After all, isn’t there an animal in all of us?