the complicity of silence....

“Our culture, religion and tradition starts with oral history. Our belief in the superiority of humans is rooted in the darkness and superstition, passed on by word of mouth for centuries. It has become holy, writ large by human hands. If we taped an oral history of animal kingdom, the anguished screams would drown out the sound and fury of the Big Bang.” … philip wollen

sometimes i despair at being human  - i weep often and suffer incredible bouts of depression when i am constantly confronted with way too many horror stories of the abuse and  suffering of animals the world over….

my inbox is often ‘overflowing’ with cries for help from activists and organisations worldwide fighting to end the cruelty...

humans are responsible for all manner of horrors, from factory farming, to bear baiting and bile farming, animal experimentation to mass slaughter of wolves, whales, kangaroos and so many others... animal smuggling, the 'exotic pet' trade, poaching, and destruction of habitat placing many species in danger of extinction… then there's the live export shame, bullfighting, fur farming, the dogmeat trade, circuses, 'domestic' cruelty - the litany of  atrocities goes on and on…

“Animal cruelty has become big business. Billions of defenceless animals are killed each year for the mere taste of their flesh, look of their fur or skin, or vain hope that experimenting on them might tell us something about ourselves...

But it doesn’t have to be like this. Knowledge is power, and the power is in your hands to make a world of difference for animals!” ... unleashed australia

knowledge is power - and brave, caring and passionate people risk prosecution, sometimes physical harm, sometimes their lives - all risk their sanity - to discover the truth and then inform others... it’s this that gets me out of my despondency - their knowledge needs to be shared - i'll continue to weep but i have to keep reading, and keep writing... i'll keep pleading with politicians while filling up their inboxes, and i'll keep signing petitions and demonstrating - because silence only benefits the torturors and allows heinous practices to continue - silence makes us complicit in the horrors perpetrated against the innocent and voiceless…

"Animals cannot speak, but can you and I not speak for them and represent them? Let us all feel their silent cry of agony and let us all help that cry to be heard in the world."

... rukmini devi arundale

one thing that did brighten my world this weekend was discovering there is soon to be a vegan b&b in victoria - the first one in australia apparently - bed & broccoli - their official opening coincides with world vegan day on 6th november... and it's part of an animal sanctuary, how appropriate... hmmm, now that might be incentive enough to save for a weekend away...