THE cruelty we show to the stray animals that roam our streets is unfortunate. In movies from the West, it is common to see people being nice and affectionate to stray animals so much so that stray cats and dogs come into their homes for food and shelter.

I often used to think why stray animals in our society run away at the first sight of a passer-by. Then I realised that the reason was actually no secret. We do not treat them well. Why would they trust us?

Over the years, I have realised that our society has deeply traumatised these poor animals. Children throw stones at dogs for fun and chase them out of the streets going as far as to steal their young ones; the puppies. What else could they do, but fear the human beings?

People can truly be judged by the manner in which they treat those who are weaker than them and cannot communicate, and that includes the innocent animals.

The general absence of laws for the protection of animals has led to a rampant rise in animal cruelty cases. The laws that do exist are archaic and not up to the current standards of protection. It is of utmost importance to revise the laws to make our society civilised and humane.

Ambreen Fatima
Lahore

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2022