FREEDOM

I am surprised when people who keep animals on leashes or in cages, commonly called pets, claim their love for animals. How do you claim to love someone while depriving them of their freedom? 

Every morning while jogging, I see many of them holding their pets on a leash while walking or running. They are convinced that they love animals more than those who do not have pets. Well, it is the morality of human beings to see bad as good and vice versa. It is this kind of mentality among race-minded men that spawned slavery, leading to the racism we see today. Animals are living beings that need to enjoy their freedom to be happy.

Do we not say "freedom is priceless," because it is an inalienable right for everyone, including animals, to live with dignity?

Human cruelty goes even further, to the point of castrating animals to prevent them from reproducing. Why is this? Ah, I see. They are just animals; they have no right or voice in the matter. Despite not being human beings, pets owners make decisions for their animals in good conscience, going so far as to think they are kind to those animals. Given these considerations, I have decided not to take my daughter to the zoo anymore, as it breaks my heart to see sad animals. Do you realize that a net is put over birds (an eagle, a falcon, an albatross, etc.) to prevent them from flying? A bird that cannot fly is deprived of its essence of life, just as a zebra or a horse that cannot frolic because it is in an enclosure is like amputating a man on purpose when his feet are still in good condition. 

Animals need to be free to be happy. 

To be kept on a leash or put in a cage like a parrot, this is how they show their love to these animals. You keep a parrot (a bird) in a cage to sing for you, but you pretend to love this bird! These are the reasons that have generated protest movements and social revolts by men to claim their freedom because they have been caged, oppressed, and deprived of their freedom. But given our actions as human beings, we are opposing what we aspire to by taking away the freedom of animals. Let us not be surprised that human beings who believe themselves superior to others deprive them of their freedom in the form of slavery, colonialism, apartheid, etc., because they believe that others are inferior like animals. Slavery, colonialism, etc. are advanced forms of deprivation of freedom because in these cases, the pets are not animals but human beings considered inferior. How can you be convinced that depriving people of their freedom is doing them good when you yourself want to be free?

In the park where I like to walk, which is provided with beautiful vegetation and a river, there is what is called "catch and release" (fishing without catching), which is to say that when you catch a fish, you take the hook out of the fish's mouth and put the fish back in the water. Some take pleasure in it; there are even signs promoting it: "Here we are not allowed to take our catch but to put it back in the river because we are concerned about preserving animals." Ah, what an irony! Sarcasm at its best! Imagine you're at home chilling and suddenly a hook grabs your cheek, you're pulled out of your house, the catcher admires you, takes off the hook, then puts you back in your habitat; wouldn't you be traumatized? Fish are living beings with feelings and hearts; what fun can we have in traumatizing animals for the sole purpose of entertainment, not even for food? 

It is the image of the society in which we live, and believe me, few people are not offended by it. This is why our leaders have expressed no embarrassment about putting all of the world on lockdown for some far-fetched reason. How did they manage to do it? Simply because we have dehumanized ourselves and our consciousness has lowered to the point where our capacity for judgment, reflection, and action has diminished, we become the slaves of our masters, who decide for us; we are their pets, their lab rats. As humans, we reproduce what we have learned, and unfortunately, animals are inferior to us in our world, so they are subjugated, but with "love." The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "the inherent dignity of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world." Well, the UN doesn't mention living species but sticks only to humans, so it's understandable why some people think animals have no rights; subconsciously, this is why, as human beings, we do not consider other beings (animals, plants, minerals) as valuable for our ecosystem and living species like us. As humans, we are programmed to dominate the weakest, "the law of the jungle."

It is not forbidden to have pets or animals in your house, because releasing them in the wild will not help either; it will be a death sentence for them (some will adapt to freedom like birds; they will just fly away), but those who were once fed but lost all ability for independence due to slavery, try to accommodate them according to what is required as living space for them; for example, a dog, a peacock, or a horse need a specific area size to enjoy their freedom if you want them to feel free. If you can't afford space for them, leave them alone. You have your fellow human beings to entertain you, or you can find activities that don't involve oppressing and depriving animals of their freedom.

Marius C. Oula