International Animal Rights day; End animal cruelty!

For hundreds of years, man has been killing and mistreating animals for personal gain.

Whether it is in the exploitation of meat, or animal fur for fashion and art, the justification that it is done out of necessity has really been pushed.

The rights of our furry friends are celebrated annually on International Animal Rights Day on December 10.

The day is shared with Human Rights Day, as it should be, because animals have the right to be treated with respect, and acts of cruelty against them need to end just as much as for humans.

Habitat loss and fragmentation in the dispersal areas, a decline in wildlife population, poaching, human-wildlife conflicts, and alien to invasive species these are just some of what threatens Kenya’s Parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

Lions and leopards are vulnerable to extinction and their populations are steadily declining. 

The African elephant also faces extinction as the IUCN has cited data showing that the populations of Africa’s savanna elephants found in a variety of habitats had fallen by at least 60 per cent over the last 50 years. 

They are mostly threatened by poaching, habitat loss and human wildlife conflict.

In 1948, the UN passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, following the torture subjected to humans during World War II in concentration camps by Nazi Germany.

After this, organisations, associations, and individuals from around the world started demanding that this declaration be extended to the animal kingdom and that December 10, should also be a day for advocating the rights of animals.

22 years after the UN passed their historic declaration, the word “speciesism” was coined in 1970, to discuss and encourage dialogue on the discrimination against sentient beings based on their species.

The whole idea that animals are inferior and live for the sole purpose of catering to the needs and wants of humans is an irrational prejudice against them.

Just as certain segments of the human race are suffering due to sexism and racism, animals suffer just as much, if not more, because they can’t defend themselves.

Despite the coining of this term, it wasn’t until 1998 when an official statement was passed for animal rights.

Uncaged, which is an animal protection organisation, created International Animal Rights Day to shed light on all types of violence against animals.

The founders behind this day stated that, since animals cannot protest, vote, or advocate for their own protection, it is the responsibility of humans to do it for them.

December 10 was intentionally chosen so that International Animal Rights Day falls on the same day as Human Rights Day.

Since then, events, demonstrations, and fundraisers, often covered by traditional media, have been organised worldwide to expose the reality of animal abuse and exploitation.

Switch to a cruelty-free lifestyle

This is probably something that cannot be done overnight, but you can start small by boycotting companies that continue to conduct testing on animals.

It’s a small step, but it will have a big effect in the long run, for sure!

Advocating for animal rights is nothing short of a revolution.

Ending animal cruelty means completely revamping our lifestyles so that we are not so reliant on the exploitation of animals for progression in science, medicine, fashion, and the food industry.