December has a number of significant upcoming days regarding animal welfare. Firstly, December 4 marks ‘World Wildlife Conservation Day’, a day set aside to highlight global efforts to protect endangered species and preserve the biodiversity and ecosystems that sustain our planet. The day aims to raise awareness about the detrimental effects of poaching and wildlife trafficking, discourage consumer demand for products made from endangered species, and showcase the efforts of citizens, activists, private corporations and governments working together to end the illicit wildlife trade.
Secondly, December 10 signifies ‘International Animal Rights Day’, an annual event honouring animals as sentiment beings who deserve the same protections as people. This global observance is marked by demonstrations that expose animal exploitation, mourn the animal victims of human tyranny and rally support for universal animal welfare. The day serves as a reminder that animals deserve respect, compassion, and protection from cruelty and exploitation.
Despite these noteworthy days, it remains deeply ironic that many who honour them still partake in practices that exploit the very animals they celebrate and want to protect.
Loving animals goes beyond admiration or companionship. True love means respect, and respect means letting animals live freely, unexploited. It is heartbreaking when we see people showering love and care on their pets, like dogs, while, at the same time, supporting the mistreatment and killing and exploitation of farm animals for a brief meal. We adopt pandas, but we eat animal products that are destroying wildlife globally. This paradox is one that has gained a great deal of attention in recent times within animal advocacy circles.
The truth is that we do not need to eat animals to survive; we have choices. By adopting a plant-based lifestyle we take a stand against speciesism- the practice of treating members of one species as morally more important than members of other species. University of Exeter researchers asked children aged 9-11 about the moral status and treatment of farm animals (pigs), pets (dogs), and people. Unlike adults, children say farm animals should be treated the same as people and pets, and think eating is less morally acceptable than adults do.
We treat companion animals according to one set of guidelines and so-called ‘meat animals’ according to an opposing set of guidelines, despite the apparently significantly similarities between the animals in question. We must ask ourselves why we choose to show compassion to one and cruelty to another?