Dr. Loolittle

For someone who barks a lot from her blog, we now know that Wendy isn't too fond of animals (unless, according to her, they're "cute").

While the rest of blogsphere is busy clobbering Dawn Yeo/Yang, Wendy's little comment on animal rights has gone somewhat unnoticed. Maybe because the entry was supposed to be about her trip to Thailand.

Can't she blog about any trip without throwing in a bit of controversy? Granted this isn't as serious as her last one to KL, but if you're an animal lover (or proud pet owner), you might not like her following comments:

"The Thai animal vendors at Chatuchak has taught me one thing: Animals do not need to be pampered like how stupid Singaporeans pamper them.

It irks me when I see people mollycoddling their pets, getting angry at you if you dare to as much as scold/insult the pet, which is ridiculous coz obviously the pet doesn't understand what you are saying. Yes loud voices might startle them, but they aren't hurt, just are just having a biological reaction (1).

As Kelvin will explain in exasperation, it is ludicrous to throw a human being in jail for torturing animals because animals are not capable for self-conscious thoughts. They do not possess the ability to be self-aware, and therefore are not bestowed with the knowledge of their very existance.

It is fairly certain that they cannot feel jealousy (2), they cannot understand claustrophobia, nor will they get the magnitude of depression (3) a normal human being might get, being in jail.
Well before I digressed, I was saying that animals do not need to be pampered. I do not proclaim to be a frantic animal lover (only like them if they are cute; animal lovers, do you love cockroaches? (4) Don't gimme bullshit, if you are an "animal lover" then you love all animals, else you are just a CUTE-LOVER), and nor do I have anything against people who are infatuated with animals...

Oh wait I do.

I hate it when people treat animals better than they treat humans! Of course, some high-moral soul will now say that animals are better coz won't backstab you, they will never betray your love, etc etc, let's not eat them.

Yeah right kiddo, he only loves you coz he knows you will give him food. Why not test his love by sending him to your neighbour, who gives him tastier food from now on, and see if he returns? If he does, it is possibly coz your neighbour doesn't masturbate him and you do (out of love, you proclaim). Conditioned responses, all conditioned responses. (5)

And number 2, a tasty jellyfish dish is also incapable of backstabbing you, that kind benign plate of delicacy! So why not you treat the jellyfish dish better than you treat your mom? How about a rusty doorknob? Also will never sleep with your best friend!
Humans are so weird.

As our society progresses and we don't have to bother about our own survival, we start to bother ourselves with other people's survival, like they want it in the first place. Like whales. Or or foie gras. (6).

Anyway, once again, before I digressed, I was saying that the Thais have made me realise that there is NO NEED WHATSOEVER TO PAMPER ANIMALS. "

I'm beginning to wonder if she deliberately acts dumb, or is it a primal instinct of hers to enjoy getting verbally flogged in cyberspace:

(1) Pets like dogs can be trained to understand sound patterns, or should we say, commands. Yes, it's conditioning, but you may as well as say the same about the way we teach kids to speak. They are also capable of picking up nuances and various signals from us (like our tone and expressions) to understand our emotions.

(2) A cousin of mine has a pet dog which she treats as family (she and her husband raised the little pup). Whenever her niece drops by and she dotes on the little girl, the dog will go up to her and compete for attention as well. For your info, Wendy, it's a known fact that pets like dogs are very much capable of showing jealousy, whether towards a human or a new dog in the house (canine rivalry).

(3) Animals do suffer from depression too. A zoo in Toledo even administered Prozac to its depressed gorilla. And as for animals not understanding claustrophobia, maybe you should read up on this article [nb: PDF Acrobat document] from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). It's aptly titled, "Claustrophobia: what happens, why, and what you can do about it".

(4) In this case, I'd rather call a cockroach an insect. We're talking about animal lovers, not writing in a science journal. Besides, technically that makes Wendy an "animal" (and primate) too, doesn't it? =)

(5) It depends on what animal you're referring to. Some animals (like dogs and even war horses) have been know to risk (or even giving up) their lives to save their masters. Maybe they're just not as "self-aware" as humans who think only about themselves? =)

(6) I didn't know whales are people. Not sure if they'd want us to save them, but they certainly won't want us to slaughter them. Anyway, there are many reasons why people call for the protection of various animals as well as other living species. It is about maintaining the balance in our ecosystem as it is about animal rights. Of course, based on Wendy's opinions, I really doubt she has any inkling what all these things are.


Of course, Wendy can kick the next (ugly-looking) cat she sees on the road, that's up to her. I'm just curious that she's written the following only just recently:

"Everything has a tipping point, and you make your decisions everyday: Your love for eating meat, AGAINST the pain animals feel when you bloody kill them.
Let's say you choose to save the pain: Maddox (Read the article, it is seriously good) now explains that if you buy vegetables, you are knowingly assisting the accidental killing of many innocent farm animals."

In any case, I'll end this post with something from an article by Clive Wynne, "Do Animals Think", that appeared in the Nov/Dec 1999 issue of Psychology Today:

The fact is that we lack adequate methods to identify conclusively what behavior is "conscious." But scientific study of consciousness is undergoing a renaissance as reflected in recent books, conferences and journals. And these investigations have begun to include nonhuman consciousness. In particular, Alan Cowey of Oxford University and Petra Stoerig of the Institute of Medical Psychology at Ludwig-Maximilians University in Germany have developed procedures by which a monkey can signal whether or not it is consciously aware of a particular visual stimulus.

This and other recent developments provide empirical and objective support for the conclusion reached by Stephen Walker at the University of London in his !983 book Animal Thought (Routledge): "Our organ of thought may be superior, and we may play it better, but is surely vain to believe that other possessors of similar instruments leave them quite untouched."

Which thus makes Wendy's following observations totally sick:

"It is obvious the animals were kept in bad conditions, very bad conditions. The snakes were in mineral water bottles, the squirrels swung around via a string tied to their necks, and the puppies pushed around and allowed to lick every tourists' filthy hand.

The mere sight of the place will kill your average, superficial animal lover. Even Maddox might cringe a little. Or maybe not.

And yes, it is cruel, and I didn't like it too.

But curiously enough, you will realise something.

The animals propogate.

And we all know that animals only give birth in captive breeding when they are comfortable in their environment. We have all forgotten that animals have survial instincts too, and they don't need us to wipe their anus for them after they shit."


So Wendy spends a few days touring Thailand (and less at the animal market) and she can confidently conclude that these animals are propogating, and are comfortable in the horrid conditions they're kept in? Animals that are constantly under stress are more susceptible to diseases, and even if they do "adapt" to these conditions, it's still inhumane.

For your own sake, hope you don't believe in karma.


* For those still wondering if a cockroach is an animal, scientifically-speaking, it is. The class Insecta (or insects) belong to a animal phylum known as Arthropoda (or arthropods); of course, arthropods also include Crustacea (hope I spelt that correctly) like lobsters, prawns, crabs etc. Arachnida (spiders, scorpions), and dozens other class which I can't remember off-hand. Yes, insects are a subgroup of animals, but this (and Wendy's entry) is hardly a science journal. =)