byLena Lin

We always go around complaining if we feel abused, and humans are always fighting for for their rights. But if an animal is abused, how can it complain? How can it fight for its rights? Animal rights are in violation all over the world, and let�s see what one society is doing to protect it ...

WITH THE PRESENT STRUCTURE dating back to 1981, the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA ) takes active action today in prevention of cruelty to animals all around the world. Thanks to this international body, animals globally can begin to hope for a better way of life on planet earth.

      Formed by the merger of the World Federation for Protection of Animals, and International Society for the Protection of Animals, WSPA aims to promote the protection of animals, to prevent cruelty to animals, and to relieve animal suffering in every part of the world. And in this effort, they have undertaken several major high profile projects.

      The volcanic erruption in the Carribean island of Montserrat has barren and ashen the former paradise, turning it into a land for no man. Only hungry stray animals roam the island now, in constant search for food and water. Due to the lack of transportation , animals were not able to accompany their owners to safety. Some pets were even left tied to the house and left hungry for two weeks at a time.

      �Pups tried to suckle a mother dog who could barely produce enough milk to feed them. Skinny cats hunted at night, but the birds have flown elsewhere. Not even a drink of clean water could be found,� WSPA Field services Gerardo Huertas explained. However , the body has taken immediate action to salvage the situation. Daily, Huertas would lead his team to the animal danger zones with packages of pet food on their backs, providing not only relief for hunger, but also companionship for the abandoned animals.

      That is not enough for the WSPA though. They have taken further steps to help the animals of Montserrat by setting up an animal shelter in one of the safe zones of the island. The shelter acts as a base for the animals lucky enough to be heading out of the ashen island and to welcoming homes in the nearby islands.

      And in another one of the many WSPA projects, the village folk of Namibia are being taught ways to manage their livestock without threatening their natural predators, the cheetah. In Africa, a huge vaccination effort was set up in order to save the dying population of serengeti lions who were infected by distemper, a disease spread by local dogs.

      In another aspect, the WSPA has launched several campaigns to bring some of the major problems faced by animals into the light. One of the most important, or most prominent is Libearty, the World Campaign for Bears, launched in 1991 . Libearty has and is still protecting the sanctuary of bears internationally, but specifically in the country of Thailand, Greece and Turkey . The major aim of Libearty is to end all forms of bear dancing, bear baiting and any other form of �sport� involving deaths and grievous hurt to the species.

      Bear dancing, although unpopular in Malaysia, is done big scale in a lot of European and east Asian countries despite many efforts by animal rights protection groups all over. In the usual cases, mothers of cubs are brutally murdered just to have to have their cubs kidnapped to be sold as exotic pets. As the cubs mature and grow too big to handle , they are eventually kept in chains, or worse, sold into slavery as dancing bears.

      In another form of cruelty to bears, full grown male bears are kept in small cells to fight for food -- to entertain spectators in Japan. We can only hope that the local residents will support, and continue to support the WSPA in efforts to protect the bears from further extinction.

      WSPA faces many challenges on in its mission , but what might be the most difficult is the abolishing of bullfighting in Spain and France. Having been the tradition of Spaniards and Frenchmen for the last hundreds of years , the battle against bullfighting rages on , winning but also losing often. An Animal Protection Law was passed in 1850 which forbid the �sport� but strong opposition in the south forced the government of France to reverse the law , and within two years bullfights were allowed to take place once again. But as the world changed and revolutionised in the 20th Century, more and more citizens began to abandon the inhumane blood sport. In 1997, attendance to bullfights at Le Grau-do Roi Plaza dropped 40% whereas events that took place in B�ziers, Bayonne and Dax only managed to attract 50% of the intended patrons

      Maria Arnal, President of Aequalis, believes that the battle against bullfighting would be easier in France than in Spain. She adds, �This Summer (1998), as the World Cup is staged here, France will be hosting the world�s most popular sporting event; we need to make it absolutely clear that no civilised person wants to see the continuation of the world�s ugliest sport.�

      As the WSPA continues its efforts to create an ideal Earth for living creatures, we pray for their success and achievement.

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