Dog-Owner Bond

According to a new study, the relationship between pet dogs and their owners is strikingly similar to the child-parent bond in humans. Scientists investigated the bond between dogs and their owners and found that the relationship turns out to be highly similar to the deep connection between young kids and their parents.

Domestic dogs have been closely associated with humans for about 15,000 years. The animals are so well adapted to living with human beings that in many cases the owner replaces conspecifics and assumes the role of the dog's main social partner. The relationship between pet owners and dogs is highly similar to the deep connection between young children and their parents.







Source:TOI

Starving Mules of Uttarakhand

Thousands of lives have been lost in the tragic incident of cloud burst and landslide in the hill state of Uttarakhand in India. The government agencies and the Indian Army have been carrying out rescue operations to save human lives which is commendable. However, no one is paying attention to nearly 2000 mules and horses stranded in the ravaged area.


These mules are used to ferry people from one place to another in the hills which itself is animal torture and exploitation. However, ignoring them completely and leaving them to die of starvation after a calamity of such magnitude shows our indifferent and cruel attitude towards these animals. It proves how rampantly we have exploited the Earth and its creatures for our own benefit.

The lives of these starving animals are as important as of humans. Nobody has a right to think that animals have fewer rights than humans and that it does not matter if these mules and horses starve to death.


The government and the authorities concerned should immediately start a rescue and rehabilitation program for these animals. In the meantime, they should immediately be provided with food and water. A team of vets should be sent immediately to ascertain that all the injured animals are given proper medical treatment.


If we have been exploiting these animals for our own benefit, we must take care of them. We must remember that the life of an animals is as precious as the life of a human being and that they deserve the same facilities which are being provided to the humans of the affected area. We request the government to immediately take staeps to rescue and rehabilitate these innocent animals.

Tiger Population is increasing in India...

In India, which is home to half of the world's tiger population, the latest census in March 2011, revealed the presence of an estimated 1,706 tigers, way down from a healthy 45,000 population about 100 years ago. Tigers are mercilessly poached for their skin, claws and bones, all sold for its medicinal value in countries such as China and also in the west. Parts from a single tiger can fetch as much as $50,000 in the black market.

However, there is some encouraging news. Officials at the NagarjunasagarSrisailam Tiger Reserve ( India ) said tiger movements were caught on camera recently in and around 800 square kilometers of NSTR, which experts said were signs that the population was doing well. At least 5 males and 10 females, apart from 3 cubs aged over a year old were caught on camera in the core areas for the first time in the last few years.




Buoyed at the good news, NSTR officials said they are planning to purchase 210 cameras so that 800 square kilometer area can be covered at one go. Officials also plan to scout at least 2,000 square kilometres area of the reserve before the onset of monsoon and complete rest of the area later. This scientific mapping exercise is being done under phase-4 of intensive tiger monitoring under the ministry of environment and forests. Experts said special care must be taken to protect the cubs as the mortality rate is often very high.







Source: TOI

Bullock Cart Races should be Banned

Bullock Cart races should be banned immediately in India and elsewhere in the world. Bullocks used in these races are deprived of food, water and shade for up to six hours. They are forcefully yanked by nose ropes that causes their noses to bleed and are physically abused in order to force them to run - even when exhausted. The animals have their tails twisted, chemical irritants rubbed into their mouths and jabbed with sharp wires with protruding nails to control their movement.





Tormenting and terrifying bulls into running to make money is inherently cruel and this sadistic celebration of torturing innocent animals must stop at once. This cruel show of violence proves once again how low the mankind can stoop to satisfy their greed. There are other races, by all kinds of other animals - horses, cows, camels, sheep etc; all over the world. Why doesn't man make other men run such races - kept hungry for 6-8 hours, forcefully yanked by nose ropes, and their bodies pierced by spears? Once man goes through this immenses pain, he will understand the agony animals go through.


All violence, in all the forms being inflicted upon animals must be stopped immediately by countries across the world. Once this mindless violence against animals stop, there are chances that violence against mankind will stop too. As someone rightly said, "For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love."

Debarking - The Cruel Practice

It has been found that the vocal chords of dogs are being severed in order to make them dumb. Many breeders who supply animals for experimentation severe the animals' vocal chords so that they do not bark and create a racket when painful experiments are performed on them in labs. This is being done even by individual dog owners who want to silence their barking pets. This practice is called Debarking, which is a procedure in which vocal chords are severed using laser.


The process of debarking has become easier with the introduction of lasers. In this process, the mouth of an anesthetized dog is opened, a laser is inserted in its mouth and the vocal chord is cut partially or completely. There is no bleeding and the whole process takes only five minutes.





This process of debarking is totally unethical and cruel. It could have lasting effects on a dog's psychology. If a dog can not communicte with its owner or other dogs normally, it is certain to go into a state of depression or become completely docile. This cruel practice must be banned immediately by governments all across the globe. Experiments done on debarked dogs, or any other dogs or animals for that matter, must be banned too. We can not, and must not claim to be the sole custodians of the planet and use everything and everybody according to our greed and convenience.







Source: TOI

A Prayer For Animals

O God, source of life and power,
Who feedeth the birds of the heavens,
increase our tenderness towards all the creatures of Thy hand.
Help us to refrain from petty acts of cruelty,
or thoughtless deeds of harm to any living animal.



May we care for them at all times, especially during hard weather,
and protect them from injury so that they learn to trust us as friends.
Let our sympathy grow with knowledge,
so that the whole creation may rejoice in Thy presence.




: Anonymous

I Am a Horse

You can saddle me or bridle me
You can put a chain around my neck
You can laugh or dock my tail
But my spirit you'll never break.
I'm not a toy to be modeled for fashion
Nor a slave to your every whim
I am a horse, a creature of my own
Like you, I was made by Him.

I will not answer to your call
Yet I will be here until the end
I am not here to be your doll
I was made to be your friend.

I will not run away from you
Nor will I beg for reprieve
I was made to be your companion
So I never shall leave.







You can treat me like a slave
And perhaps you'll never know
That inside, I am something more
Then the horse on which you go.

You can chain me or starve me
Drive a whip into my sides
But you'll never get inside me
Where the angel spirit resides.







-- written by Kit --