Hiding behind some bushes with my camera aimed at a solitary
sheep slowly walking across the snow covered landscape, the sheep
suddenly stopped and stared right at me.
''Great pose,'' I thought and pressed the shutter.
(The above image is an ink and water color rendition of
that photo.)
''Let us remember that animals are not mere resources
for human consumption. They are splendid beings
in their own right, who have evolved alongside us
as co-inheritors of all the beauty and abundance
of this planet.'' (Marc Bekoff)
Horses hold a special place in my heart though I must confess
that I prefer to just admire them at a distance rather than to
mount one. I did try to ride one once.....but the horse had
other ideas and so proceeded to throw me off quick smart.
Sitting in the sawdust on the ground I decided to respect the horse's
decision.
Some of us may perhaps view animals as ''underlings'' to human beings,
that their function/existence is to serve mankind,
personally however, I don't hold that view at all.
I prefer Chief Dan George's view: ''If you talk with the
animals, they will talk with you, and you will
know each other. If you don't talk with them, you will
not know them, and what you do not know, you fear.
What one fears, one destroys.''
Imagine a world without birds...
Or gentle ''giants'' such as elephants or whales.......
Or mysterious and patient elks......
Or even critters that can ''out-weave'' even the most
of brilliant human weavers.........
I will let Albert Schweitzer have the last word:
''We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty
with which we treat animals. Animals suffer as much as
we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such
suffering on them. It is our duty to make the whole
world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of
compassion to all living things, humanity will
not find peace.''
(In case you are wondering, all the images are made by my hands.)
No comments:
Post a Comment