New Zealand Now Recognizes ALL Animals As Sentient Beings!
To interrupt my long stasis from blog updates (been a busy month with visiting my new born nephew, and all sorts of other stuff), I would like to bring you this exciting news. New Zealand has just set a new precedent for how a nation should think about nature and its animal brethren.
For a long time many people have believed in foolish things about animals, such as the idea that animals “don’t feel pain.”
There’s this idea of “sentience” that certain animals have a more valuable existence than others, because their thought process is more complex.
However, New Zealand just said ‘to hell with that,’ and has now announced that ALL animals have feelings. This has set the precedent for the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill, last month, to prosecute people involved in animal abuse/cruelty, as well as to ban animal testing and research. Much of the testing of products on animals can be done via other means. For example, many cosmetic companies will put their products in an animal’s eye to see if it causes them pain.I’m sure there’s a better way to conduct that kind of research.
Hopefully other countries will begin to follow New Zealand’s example in the protection of animals from abuse and cruelty.
Our lives are no more valuable than theirs. The first step towards living on this planet in a sane manner is to start seeing our furry friends as relatives, not as lifeless tools.
Metal Gaia 
Reblogged this on journeyintoinsanity.
June 10, 2015 at 11:20 am
Reblogged this on hocuspocus13 and commented:
jinxx ♣ xoxo
June 10, 2015 at 2:59 pm
Great news!
June 10, 2015 at 4:50 pm
Yes Yes yes!
June 10, 2015 at 5:06 pm
Awesome!…anddddd now I’m moving to New Zealand…:)
June 10, 2015 at 11:03 pm
lm a big fan!!!
June 10, 2015 at 11:08 pm
The bureaucrats are almost always the last to see commonsense in virtually any issue.
My worries come when governments (and their co-participating organizations) use cases like these to justify more over-burdensome restraints upon all the people who have animals. All one has to do, is look at how the USPCA, HSUS, PETA, and others have hyper-inflated the “need” for such over-reaching regulations upon the people, as well as to further redefine the people’s relationships with their animals. What’s more, perhaps a ruling such as this, can also be a means to peel back some of the more egregious policies these animal-rights organizations have championed.
Much of what the ASPCA and HSUS have based many of their campaigns on, is in “speaking for the animals” as if they knew more about animal welfare than those who have reared animals for many years, and had no major problems. Then, these animal rights organizations have championed the thought that, because these animals can not “speak” as we do, there is no way, other than through the reps’ own words, we can know what our animal companions want or are saying. Those of us who have had animals as a part of our lives for a long time, already KNOW how our animal companions “speak”. This is through body-language, posture, and various other non-verbal communication.
So, in reality,
They are NOT just “dumb animals”, as some “experts” would still have us all believe. I have had many dogs, a few cats, and a few horses that showed more intelligence and awareness than most people! Not only that, but I have also learned many things from my animal companions. So, our animals can also be very good teachers, for those who are willing to watch, listen, and learn from them.
We will see where all of this goes.
– Rev. Dragon’s Eye
June 11, 2015 at 10:53 am
Yeah, hopefully these rules don’t get interpreted in a corrupt way. I think overall its a net plus.
June 11, 2015 at 1:46 pm
It can be, if WE, as a people, be the watchdogs – ever so vigilant.
June 12, 2015 at 8:33 pm
Reblogged this on magick millenial and commented:
Awesome, NZ!
June 11, 2015 at 9:04 pm