Miracles don't happen

Kenneth Zammit Tabona writes an article in today's The Times which deals on the recent spate of illegal hunting (and shooting in the face of a ranger), and the recent abduction of non-human animals from Razzett tal-Hbiberija. I have already given my opinion on most of the article's contents in my previous blog entries, so I will limit myself on commenting on things that were not mentioned previously by other correspondents.

Mr Zammit Tabona writes: "Let me once again make myself clear. I am against illegal and not legal hunting, however if abuse is allowed to happen unchecked I am afraid that it will be inevitable that the entire hunting community will be tarred with the same brush".

Unfortunately, Mr Zammit Tabona fails to recognize that all hunting is abuse, irrespective of whether it is legal or not, for the simple fact that hunting unnecessarily deprives life to sentient animals who have a right to live. I doubt that Mr Zammit Tabona would condone the shooting of stray dogs if the practice was made legal. Most probably he would feel outraged. Now, what makes the shooting of a stray dog cruel and the shooting of an equally sentient bird not? In this case, both animals do not form part of what some environmentalists call "endangered species". What makes the shooting of dogs clearly wrong is that, apart from bringing upon the dog unnecessary suffering, it deprives the dog of his life. What makes it any different in the case of a "common" bird? And what makes it any different in the case of a cow, pig, chicken, etc, for that matter? All unnecessary killing is abuse.

Mr Zammit Tabona goes on to say: "One would have expected that after Environment Minister George Pullicino abruptly ended spring hunting some months ago he would do the same now, especially after the Foresta 2000 ranger in Mellieha was shot at in the face and insulted. However, it was the Church Environment Commission on Monday the first that came out, excuse the comparison, with guns blazing instead!

It is apt that as I write to meet my deadline on Thursday, October 4, it happens to be the feast day of St Francis of Assisi - the poverello, whose love for God's creation at a time when animal rights were unheard of, has reverberated through the centuries and still, through the indelibly strong images conjured up by his canticles as immortalised by Giotto, presents us with a unique aspect of Christianity that has, in all this time, been responsible for environmental preservation long before the term was invented.

St Francis was the first eco-warrior, the first man in history to make it abundantly clear that all creatures, great and small, are part of God's plan and that man must respect them and use them in a sustainable way.

I could not help thinking of the deer that appear as attributes of St Julians and St Hubertus, both of whom are associated with hunting. Why did not a crucifix appear between the antlers of this deer that brought so much pleasure to the handicapped children who frequent the Park of Friendship as it did when St Hubertus was out hunting? Why did it not speak to its killer as it did to St Julian? Has God abandoned us to allow these senseless acts of cruelty to happen? Are miracles a thing of the past, lost as are the stories of Zeus's adventures?

It was right and fitting for the Church to speak out against illegal hunting while claiming that persistent abuse would jeopardise legal hunting. The Church's unexpected and brave statement was to me as extraordinarily miraculous as the Crucifix that appeared between the antlers of the deer of St Hubertus. The Church has spoken on behalf of the dumb and defenceless and, like the deer of St Julian, prophesised dire consequences if something is not done to regularise the abuses once and for all.

Miracles still do happen".

First of all, to say that "man must respect them (non-human animals) and use them in a sustainable way" is self-contradictory. To use any individual without consent, especially if one kills someone else simply because there are several others of the victim's kind, is to treat that someone as a replaceable object. Every animal is a unique individual. To treat someone as an object, and treat that someone according to the arbitrary value you place on him or her, is to treat that someone disrespectfully. Each animal values his or her life, and that's all that should matter. If "man" must respect non-human animals, then "man" should not use non-human animals as if they were replaceable objects.

As for the "miracle" that is the Church's speaking out on behalf of "protected" animals, this is no miracle at all. It is everyone's duty to act and speak out on behalf of anyone who is abused and exploited. The fact that the local Church authorities chose to speak out on behalf of "protected" birds, though it should be applauded as a step in the right direction, unfortunately does not go far enough.

It is very easy to condemn abuses that you do not take an active part in. It is far more difficult to acknowledge the abuses that one performs oneself, and to stop that abuse. Presumably, the Church, while falling short of acknowledging that non-human animals have rights, recognizes the fact that all unnecessary suffering and death inflicted by humans on non-human animals is wrong. Therefore, the Church should garner the courage to speak out unequivocally against all unnecessary suffering and death inflicted on non-human animals. It is not just illegal hunting that causes unnecessary suffering and death. All hunting does. And so do all uses of non-humans exploited for their taste, skin, entertainment, and all other uses that are unnecessary for human health and survival. When the Church speaks openly against all forms of animal abuse, now that would be a real miracle!

Then again, miracles don't happen. It's all up to us to change the world into a more compassionate one where justice prevails and where no one is exploited simply because the exploiter is more powerful than the exploited. That change starts with oneself, and does not require a miracle. All that's necessary is sufficient will to do the right thing.