Animal cruelty is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or harm upon non-human animals.
When I arrived at the bird market in College Road located in Rawalpindi, I was surrounded by animals, birds, and the sounds of their stifling cages. At first sight, I saw two goats tied to electric poles. They could neither walk nor sit because the rope to which they were tied was so short. Besides shops, I noticed several people on the college road who were selling famished animals housed in small cages. I witnessed dogs, cats, rabbits, ducks, pigeons, chickens, and fish of different breeds. I was shocked when I saw a small cage keeping 3 pairs of birds in an extremely congested space restricting them to walk or move. Some sellers put a small amount of food in the bowls whereas others did not bother to place food on their respective birds and animals. My heart was broken when I saw the longing eyes of the birds.
Unconsciously, I thanked God for seeing the misery of these animals and birds for giving me the ability to communicate my emotions and pain, and for not being helpless to rely on others for my survival.
I continue walking a short distance when I came across a lifeless cat with diseased eyes which were continually leaking fluid. I spotted several animals being mistreated; however, the market’s worst abuse victims were the ducks in the cage. Approximately, three to four huge ducks were kept in an upside-down cage, which made it difficult for them to walk around and breathe in the stuffy confines.
Although all of the animals were in terrible health, the local breed was in a far worse state. The Persian and Russian breeds are in considerably better condition clearly exhibiting breed prejudice.
There was no veterinary care given to the animals. I saw buyers and sellers bartering over sick animals. Even the healthy animals became ill because of the severe cage stink under those appalling conditions. Some animals were kept in enclosures that received direct sunlight, while others were kept in extremely frigid and dry conditions. Then I went to fishing supply stores; the fish in the aquariums were in reasonably good shape, but regrettably, I also saw fish in little jars that appeared to be on the verge of passing out.
I witnessed that sick fish were kept outside of aquariums in plastic bags, and were being sold for far less. I spent about two hours at the market, but it didn’t leave me with any pleasant memories. I started thinking that we humans become insensitive treating animal’s souls ruthlessly.
I believe that if verbose men, women, and transgender people don’t get their rights, where do the voiceless animals stand?
We are currently on the verge of cruelty, where we do not feel the plight of voiceless animals and birds. We are unable to comprehend the suffering that is evident in their eyes and the pain of the worn-out and shattered bodies in cages because the money and free entertainment we receive from them render us severely blind.
I analyzed that the absence of emotion was the main cause of cruelty. Harsh sun, famished animals in extreme cold, big ducks in small cages, goats chained to electric poles, almost 5 to 6 or more animals and birds in one cage, birds separated from their mothers, suffocated fishes in jail of plastic bags, hungry and thirsty bunnies are all symbolic of human incivility. Humans are not bothered by their difficult, harsh, uncomfortable, and suffocated environment. I noticed some children with these store owners who were either their kids or helpers and who were witnessing the abuse in a very normalized environment. So, from childhood, they are witnessing the business of abusing animals so how will they show affection, love, and attachment toward animals?
