Two years ago, an animal rights society in Hong Kong was accused of putting down a lost cat erroneously. As a matter of fact, this organisation whose mission is “to promote kindness to animals”, is actually responsible for taking the lives of thousands of them every year. Ironic, isn’t it?
While people can debate if these people are doing their best to prevent cruelty to animals, one cannot deny that, one of the root causes, is because some people treat their pets like possessions or merely commodities, they do not care much about them, or even abuse and abandon them when they have lost interest. No love is lost when there is none to begin with.
On another note, a sister once told me that she became a vegetarian after learning how all those delicious dishes are made and prepared from animals being slaughtered. Indeed, the modern city culture has removed from most of us the gruesome scenes and details of animals being killed for food, replacing them with the Disney-style perception of animals.
Animals are part of God’s creation, and while God has let us to have dominion over them and given us the rights to consume them for food, He did not tell us to disrespect them or induce unnecessary pains on them. And they can be God’s vessels as well, remember when Balaam refused to listen to God, it was a donkey who saved his life.
So let us remember the meekness of the Son, who does not break the bruised reed, and the loving-kindness of the Father, who feeds and remembers the sparrows, and be at Peace with the creatures.
Adapted from the transcript of my Reflections on Peace on RTHK Radio 4 in 2016.