1.
Introduction
Britain has a
good community with animals. British government
hardly kills ownerless dogs and cats. On the other side, there are serious
problems about pets in Japan, and a hundred thousand dogs and two hundred
thousand cats are killed by Japanese government. First, I will describe a history of symbiotic
relationship with humans and animals.
Then I will describe animal protectionism in British community with some
examples. After that I will explain
problems about pets in Japanese community.
Finally I will compare the deference between British and Japanese pet
community.
2.
History of symbiosis between
humans and animals
First, a history of symbiosis
with dogs is unclear, but it’s believed that dogs helped humans more than 15,000
years ago. Dogs were originally domesticated
from wolves, and they helped humans with their camps. For instance, they alerted the camps to the
presence of strangers by using their acute hearing, assist with the hunt by
using their robust sense of smell, even provided a warmth by sleeping together.
When humans started to settle
in one place with farming, cats were domesticated to keep crops safe from mice. One of different characteristics of cats from
dogs is carnivorous, and they ate only vermin and household pests in grain
storehouses. It’s also unclear when cats
were domesticated, but it was more than 5000 years ago. And this is a reason why history of cats is shorter
than dogs.
3.
Animal protectionism in British
community
In 1789, the English
philosopher Jeremy Bentham argued that “it was the ability to suffer that
should be the benchmark of how we treat other beings. If rationality were the
criterion, many humans, including infants and the disabled, would also have to
be treated as though they were things”.
It was not particularly about animals, but British people began to think
about animal rights.
A rise in animal rights
awareness created many organizations. Royal
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) was established by a
group of 22 reformers in the cafe of London called “Old Slaughter's Coffee
House”. This society was the first
animal welfare charity to be founded in the world. Battersea Dogs & Cats Home is the United
Kingdom's oldest and most famous home for dogs and cats, and it was established
as the Temporary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs in 1860. The Battersea Dogs & Cats Home is also a
charity, and the home received no government funding, but it’s run almost
entirely on donations from the public. Now they care for around 9,000 animals a year.
(6,000 dogs and 3,000 cats)
Animal protection campaigns
also led laws pass for animals such as Protection of Animals Act 1911, Pet
Animals Act 1951, and Animal Welfare Act 2006.
The Protection of Animal Act provided a power of arrest for police. The Pet Animals Act set forth certain
conditions that local authorities may consider in determining whether or not to
grant someone a pet shop license. The
conditions are included that animals were kept in a sanitary, suitable physical
environment, and they were fed and watered regularly, and they were not sold
before they reach an appropriate age. The
local authorities sometimes investigated applicants.
4.
Problems about animals in
Japanese community
The Japanese used not to
kill animals as much as possible because of a concept of Buddhism. And a famous law called Shourui Awaremino Rei
was issued in 1678 by the Japanese goverment.
The law forced Japanese people to protect animals, but such a top down
law was too extreme to obey, and sometimes a violator was executed. At least Japanese people didn’t understand
the animal protectionism except upper class at that time.
One of problems today in
Japan is a lack of animal shelters. Local
government health centres are in charge of animals, but their poor facilities
allow animals to stay there only 3 to 14 days.
According to an official document, the government health centers put 93%
of dogs and cats (total 400,000) to sleep, and only 7% of them were rehomed in
2005. This data indicates a nongovernmental
effort is essential to save animals. And
the number of rehomed animals was somewhat improved to 19% in 2013 owing to the
civilian effort. But the mentality of
the Japanese people is still not advanced enough to establish a big animal
shelter such as the Battersea dogs and cats home.
Another problem is laws about
pet shops. It’s very common to buy pets
in shops in Japan. And displaying animals is not prohibited by the laws. That’s
why breeders sell animals to shops as much as possible. Again, the Japanese people should develop a
mentality of Animal Protectionism and improve laws for animal rights.
5.
In conclusion
The Animal Protectionism
originated in British community in 18th century, and it has been developing
for more than 200years. On the other
hand, the Animal Protectionism is still not spread enough in Japanese
community, and it causes a lack of animal shelter, undevelopment of laws, animal
euthanasia.
6.
References
[1] Wikipedia, Dog,
< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog#Origin >
[2] Wikipedia, cats,
< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat
>
[3]Wikipedia, horse,
< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse >
[4]Wikipedia, Animal_rights,
< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_rights#Jeremy_Bentham
>
[5] Wikipedia, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home,
[6] Wikipedia, Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals
Animals>
[7]Wikipedia,Shourui awaremi no rei,
