She’s more than just a dead cow

Pakistan needs to understand that animals are splendid beings in their own right

‘All living things deserve equal respect’ or that’s what we’re told. And, what about when they die? I literally broke down and felt sick to my stomach last Friday, when I saw a beautiful, buxom, white cow lying dead at a side street in Defence, Phase 1, Karachi. How sick is it that the majority of the Pakistani society turns a blind eye to such matters and sees absolutely no issue with this grotesque image of a deceased being at all?

The response I get from a local Karachiite: “Well, you do realise that people are treated the same in this country?” And, I am appalled at that response. It’s not about whether there was a human lying there or a sphinx cat; it’s about the casual attitude concerning death and the abysmal disrespect towards something, we, so regularly, consume. This laidback approach is what gives rise to animal cruelty. Somehow, it’s totally acceptable to spend a couple of grand on a steak, but when it comes down to dutifully putting the animal six feet under, we either squirm or walk away — indifferent and unfeeling; heading out to the well-prepped aaloo gosht at home.

Coming from the United States and being an active member of Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), it was ingrained in me that animals are not mere resources for human consumption. But, somehow, I never turned vegan. Not, until, now. Witnessing a ghastly image of a being, that, in fact, spent her entire life providing her owner with milk and offspring (that were callously snatched from her for meat or sold off) makes me disgusted. I’m repulsed by this society. Pakistan needs to understand, alongside all other societies that don’t value life that animals are splendid beings in their own right, which have evolved alongside us as co-inheritors of all the beauty and abundance of life on this planet.

And in memory of Cecile the lion…

This is not just about a majestic lion who was shot dead in cold blood by a ruthless coward, but just as Cecile, no animal should be hunted for sport or pleasure. No one has the right to brutally torture and humiliate animals, even after they have passed. I urge you to please, stop supporting animal cruelty. Trophy hunting, hunting for sport, skinning animals alive for fur — none of it is acceptable. It’s a vain, cruel and sickening act. Animal abuse and torture is never okay. Please stand up for what’s right and for those who have no voice.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 15^th, 2015.