PROTECTION OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS 581 



THE PKOTECTION OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS 



By Pbofessob VERANUS A. MOORE 



CORNELL UNITEESITT 



ALTHOUGH we depend to a large degree upon lower animals for 

 food and clothing, the necessity for their protection and the best 

 methods of caring for them do not seem to be fully appreciated. If the 

 Biblical statement concerning the creation is accepted as it is usually 

 interpreted, namely, that man is the foreordained master over dumb 

 creation, our responsibility for its protection is clear. Starting from 

 early time, it is easy to understand that as the human family multiplied 

 it came to require, as it does to-day, a large part of the earth's surface 

 for its activities, thereby exterminating some species of animals and 

 forcing others from a life of natural independence in forest and plain to 

 one dependent upon the action of man. In the evolution of civilization 

 the animals that were needed by the human family were subjected to 

 conditions of life foreign to their original existence and to some extent 

 contrary to their natural instincts. Thus they have been, for no fault of 

 their own, driven from the freedom of the wild to become the property 

 of man, to be bred, to be fed and housed, to be protected or maltreated 

 according to the will of their owners. They are in a certain sense our 

 slaves and must from their very nature continue as such. There is, 

 however, a growing feeling that the hardships which often accompany 

 their servitude should be lessened. There is a demand for their emanci- 

 pation from the heartless treatment of cruel men. The spirit that is 

 permeating the hearts of people relative to the humane treatment of 

 animals was expressed in the somewhat homely statement of a negro in 

 New Orleans when he first saw an electric car and was told that it came 

 from Boston. "Law me! The Yankee came down and freed the 

 'niggers' and now he comes down and frees the mules." 



An important element that exerts a strong influence toward the 

 better care of dumb creation is a genuine affection which exists on the 

 part of many people for their animals. The devotion of animals to 

 their masters often touches the heart of man and impels him to a humane 

 treatment of his charges. In caring for them it is well to remember 

 that many of the kindest acts from the human standpoint are often out 

 of harmony with the nature of the animals receiving such attention. 

 This frequently results in disease, suffering and death where only health 

 and physical comfort were intended. Many a lad caresses his dog and 

 feeds it the best of his sweets without realizing how much the poor dog 

 longs for a bone. 



In pointing out the reasons why domesticated animals should have 



