Treated ‘like animals’?

THE EDITOR, Sir:

THE GLEANER headline on November 14, ‘Treated like animals’, struck me negatively. The story was regarding people being treated like animals by other people whose job it was to serve and assist them.

I am given to understand that being treated like animals means being treated badly, neglected, abused, etc. It is a great pity that we in Jamaica have learnt that animals, by default, are badly treated, and this is normal and acceptable – for animals, but not humans.

Ironically, I passed, again, one of these examples of ill treatment and neglect of animals that very same morning (November 14) on my way down the hill, coming down towards Red Hills on the mountain road near the second turn-off to Coopers Hill.

Still lying there on the road was the beautiful large red dog, bloated, broken and dead by the roadside. He/she had certainly been allowed by the owner (?) for a long time to roam the roads at will, as I used to see this dog very often while driving on that road and, in fact, almost hit him once myself. I had come to look out for him after that, and slow down in that area in particular.

On Friday morning, November 18, after at least eight days, the putrid and rotten remains of that poor dog are still lying there and stinking up the whole area through no fault of the dog’s. Is this a fine scenario, or what? There are also many other dogs in the same situation of risk, in that area and others, beautiful or not, ‘owned’ or ‘stray’, who are always at great risk of being killed by vehicular traffic as they scavenge for food (usually dumped by us humans from car windows – boxes of chicken bones, etc.).

EVENTUAL DEATH

Certainly, it is inevitable that these helpless and unfortunate animals will eventually, sooner or later, be smashed to death while trying to stay alive by eating whatever, however and wherever food is available to them at the time.

Maybe if we had learnt from we were small, to care for and have respect, love and compassion for our little sisters and brothers, and also for dogs, cats and other animals, we would have developed a permanent sense of caring and sympathy for our fellow adult human beings as well.

It might certainly help to start now by not saying ‘treated like animals’ anymore, and instead say ‘treated like garbage’. At this point in our severely damaged society, which is hurtling at great speed towards complete shame and degradation, it certainly means the same thing. SADAN TAYAD Coopers Hill, St Andrew