Animals\' Angels - wir sind bei den Tieren | we are there with the animals

Dear Friends,
There are things that make me happy. Others make me angry. Let me share these things with you – clippings that end up on my desk, encounters on the road, insights after being ‘there with the animals’. Hopefully my thoughts and reflections will help you to get started on your own way to change and action.

23.11.2009
In 2009 Animals' Angels inspectors were on the road in Europe, the Americas and Australia. We followed trucks with horses, cattle and sheep. We came face to face with chickens, goats and pigs. We cuddled donkeys and our hearts went out to the little lambs and calves in their misery. We dedicated all our loving energy, a huge amount of donators’ money and a considerable legal knowledge towards their wellbeing and protection.  And still there are the forgotten transports.

• Lions, bears, and tigers "travel" in tiny circus-cages on wheels. They are never to be released from these surroundings, even if the law prohibits unlimited stay of animals in transport vehicles.
• Massive elephants are squeezed in small trucks for days on end.
• Fish are sent in plastic bags or containers to the aquarist shops.
• Fish are brought in big trucks to fish farms.
• Fish are shipped in tanks on lorries to ocean resorts, where they are released to be caught later by hobby fishermen.
• Wild deer, partridges and hares are trapped and brought to so called "sanctuaries" thousands of kilometres away. Numb with fear and shock they are released only to be shot by hobby hunters.  
• Ostriches and stags for farming purposes are transported in boxes on trucks. Easily panicked they often hurt themselves.
• Turkish frogs and Romanian snails in their thousands are shipped alive in cool boxes to the kitchens for so called "gourmets".
• Lobsters "travel" half frozen inside the bellies of big aircraft, although this is against EU regulations.
• Tiny mink babies are caged and transported to the mink farms, only to be fattened, gassed and skinned.

Who cares for these forgotten ones on transport? Humane laws are not for them. Animals' Angels inspectors rarely find them on trucks, on board of ships. We are not permitted inside airfreight terminals. We have no authority to control transport by post or special delivery.
Who cares? I do. These forgotten animals on transport are my personal nightmare. Every now and then I wake up in the middle of the night and my heart reaches out to them in their suffering... from big elephant to tiny snail. If we could only find them. Every single Animals' Angels inspector would look at them with loving eyes, with respect for their unalienable dignity. Every one of us would try to ease their suffering. But we cannot find them in the vast expanses of global animal transport...

3.11.2009


" The road is long
with many a winding turn
that leads us to who knows where
who knows where " *

Sonja and Terry are on the road. They begin in Yuma, Colorado while a snowstorm rages. The road proves to be extremely dangerous with many slippery and winding turns. In front of them is the truck with pigs; a truck, that leads them to who knows where. But follow they will, faithfully for 28 hours. No sleep. No proper food. No clean shirts. A trail of seemingly endless proportions. A trail that ends after  thousands of miles in Los Angeles, California.

" But I'm strong enough to carry him
he ain't heavy
he's my brother "

Sonja and Terry are suffering together with the pigs. They feel their discomfort vibrating through their own bodies. They share panic, stress, despair. They experience each sharp bend and each forceful use of brakes just like them. They listen to desperate cries and soft whimpering. They endure the cold and suffer from the heat. They are hungry and thirsty. They feel utterly exhausted. Dirt covers their bodies and threatens to engulf their very soul.

" So on we go
his welfare is my concern
no burden is he to bear
we'll get there "

Sonja and Terry stay undercover until the very end. Finally the truck reaches the slaughterhouse in Los Angeles, California. The vehicle disappears behind the gates. "Good Bye, Marga, good bye brothers and sisters. Your have been no burden at all. We would do it again. Your welfare is our concern… " were the whispered words of parting.

" It's a long, long road
from which there is no return
while we're on the way to there
why not share? "

Sonja and Terry fly back with eyes full of horrific images. Ears resounding with desperate cries. Bodies numb from utter exhaustion. But their hearts are full of love. They are on a road from which there is no return. There is work to be done. A cruel trade must be fought. Marga and the others are murdered. But Sonja and Terry are leading the way to a better future for their brothers and sisters.

While they are on the way to there, why not share?
The burden, the work, the fight.
Your are invited to come along.
Everyone of you.
Marga is your sister.
Tommy is your brother.
They ain't heavy. Really they are not.
Together we are strong enough to carry all of them towards a better future.

* Lyrics by Bob Russell and Bobby Scott 1969
one of the greatest hits of The Hollies

19.10.2009
Time and again I am confronted with animal activists who keep fighting their own rage and despair on top of the daily battles for animals' rights. This often leads to a severe burnout syndrome. Karen Davis – much respected heroine of united poultry concern USA – identifies three causes for burnout in animal welfare:

• the omnipresence of animal suffering caused by humans
• public resistance to our message
• letdowns by fellow activists.

In Animals' Angels we deal with the threat of succumbing to burnout as follows:

• We do our homework. I.e. we work diligently and tirelessly to have our facts and figures right. Solid knowledge protects us from feeling inferior and often gains us the respect of stakeholders and relevant authorities.


• We are there with the animals. We share their suffering and despair. This is the least we can do, when no means of help are available. Strangely this gives us strength. By witnessing the most horrendous scenarios our resolve never to abandon the animals grows stronger. And each eye contact, each trembling touching of a bloodied body strengthens our will to fight.


• We value and cherish our emotions. To be confronted with daily suffering of unbelievable proportions and outrageous cruelty, we are attacked by a variety of emotions – from sadness and despair to scorn and hate. We do not act on these feelings. We strictly avoid talking about them outside our group of trusted colleagues. But we acknowledge and value them as adequate and healthy reactions. These emotions keep us going. They represent our resolve to be with the animals’ heart and soul.


• We avoid conflicts with fellow animal activists. We will not get involved in hate mails, in useless jealousy driven tirades. We try to be helpful if asked, but in general we keep ourselves to ourselves. And since we are experts only in a clearly defined area of animal suffering, this is easy.


• We never let go of our dream. We dream of a better world, a world where animals are treated with consideration and respect, even with love. This dream seems to be completely unrealistic, even ridiculous. But we won't let go. We keep on dreaming. And our dreams pave the way for this better world to become reality. It may well be that we do not live to see this, but even then we will surely watch from the Dreaming and feel the joy of having taken part to bring this about.

• We grant ourselves time off. We go on vacations. This may be difficult, because wherever we go, animals will be suffering and we will be tempted to join just another fight. But during my time off, I am not responsible. My colleagues in Animals' Angels have taken over my responsibilities on top of their own. And because of this it is my duty to get in touch with gentle healing forces and trust them to help my overworked body and my sadly exhausted soul. When I am back, rested and refreshed, another colleague goes for his or her much needed rest…

Animal Activists are not super human creatures and we should not treat ourselves as such. We are just small, vulnerable men and women, fighting for what we think is right. And in order to continue we have to practise ways which enable us to keep going without succumbing to burnout.

30.09.2009
We are observing a slaughterhouse. We keep our distance. No trespassing. But the absence of trees, shrubs and brick walls makes it easy to see what is happening.
A transporter arrives. "Dairy"cows. "Please do not make them do it again…" I beg silently. But they do.

The cows are unloaded. Trembling, shivering in the cold completely exhausted. Electric prods are used time and again. Dirty, thin, on weak legs they stagger down the ramp and disappear inside the slaughterhouse. One cow is down. No prodding gets her back up. The workers continue to try and in so doing, their beatings become more brutal. They attack the genitals, head, eyes, ears and nose. But the cow is down and stays down. 

The pick-up truck arrives. Chains are attached. Before the actual pulling begins the workers start to make fun of the cow. They always do in many slaughterhouses around the world. They are pulling at the cow's teats while making obscene remarks. Finally under the shrill laughter of the men, the cow is pulled inside by the pick-up truck. 

When I was a teenager, my favourite singers were Peter, Paul and Mary. I still know the words of one song by heart:  

Don't laugh at me,
Don't call me names,
Don't get your pleasure from my pain,
In God's eyes we're all the same,
Someday we'll all have perfect wings,
Don't laugh at me

When I finally leave our observation point, I catch myself humming this song. I cannot prevent them from ridiculing this cow I have named Emily. I have no power whatsoever to protect her. But I can keep her dignity safe in my heart. And this is exactly what I did. And then I started writing complaints to the relevant authorities.