In the world of the elite there’s always a new way to display the show of wealth, and recently it seems to be the showing off of exotic animals being kept as “pets.” While it isn’t exactly a new concept, thanks to the era of social media it’s a much more publicised one. All over the country, animals such as lions, cheetahs, flamingoes, ostriches and many more are being kept in captivity in farmhouses and even small gardens – in less than hospitable conditions. But in a world fighting to keep these species alive, how are we fickle enough to think we can own them as pets?
A lion’s basic instinct is to hunt and prey, its body made to habitat a huge area of land – so why are they being forced to go against their very nature by being put in shackles and trained to fight what they were made to do, all for the purpose of (dare I say it) Instagram likes? The sense of entitlement is sickening to say the least, especially when those very people could use their wealth and donate generously to many research and breeding facilities that are fighting day and night to keep these species alive.
The recent Australian bushfires saw a colossal loss of wildlife, but humanity prevailed as people of the country risked their lives to save the lives of their voiceless members. It begs me to question why this country’s export laws on exotic animals are so relaxed, and how are they no laws in place in terms of follow ups for the mistreatments of these animals? From the battered and broken donkeys on the streets to starving and beaten animals in our state run zoos to pigeons being caged to endorse a new brand – Pakistan is this really who we are as a community? The world is changing and therefore we must play our part in fighting for what’s right and taking a stand for these helpless creatures. It’s time we wake up!