January 6, 2003

PLEASE allow me space to remark upon the Government Veterinary Officer's flippant dismissal of widespread distress over the circus animal acts (Mid-Ocean News, January 3). Placing domestic and non-domestic species under the same yardstick when it comes to acceptable demands made upon them is professionally incorrect. It is also a calculated attempt to mislead, indeed desensitise, the public which may look to his office for guidance in this ongoing ethical dispute.

There is no comparison between dog shows and making dressed-up elephants and a "normally" caged tiger perform to music before a large number of noisy primates; it's an apples-and-oranges comparison.

Dogs are the primordial domestic species, having evolved alongside the human primate to share the same social and ecological niche (absolutely not the case for elephants and tigers).

Indeed the mutual survival history of dogs and man is one of total interdependence. The only successful survival history of elephants and tigers has been to stay as far away from man as possible. A well-socialised canine will always wish to please its human companion without the use of force or restraint. In addition, at the end of a dog show these companion animals usually (except perhaps in Bermuda) go home to the complete freedom of their home territory and unrestrained access to select places of rest.

Equines, as one of the seven domestic species, also enjoy a special relationship with humans - mutually functional and an evolved interdependence at its core. Certainly it would not be necessary and nor would one ever decide to shackle a horse on diagonally opposing front and rear limbs. And if one did, one would fairly quickly be classified as an animal abuser.

I am not a great defender of horse racing or "eventing" but I know that the perfect harmony between rider and mount requires no element of force or threat of force and that the most successful of all unions depend on deep-running mutual understanding - not domination.

The presence in Bermuda of already captive animals on display in a circus has absolutely nothing to do with the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) but everything to do with ethics.

On what grounds does the Government Veterinary Officer find some of the information at the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) website suspect? By what authority? Has he been involved in sending inspectors out to these various North American circuses for the past decade? Did he ever contact the US Department of Agriculture regarding the known citations against this particular circus siging import permits to Bermuda? My information is that he did not. Nor did he contact PETA directly.

As a civil servant, he has a duty to ground his opinion in fact and to act ethically in the name of all Bermudians.

Finally, I should like to remind your readership that these animals were imported to Bermuda on a very small cargo vessel known as the Rosellen, registered in Limasol under one of those notorious flags of convenience that are nornally reserved for barely seaworthy craft.

In addition, anyone inspecting this boat at St. David's could hardly have failed to notice that she presented only two small lifeboats. In the event of catastrophe at sea, where would the animals go? We all know the answer: to a cold, watery grave under maximum restraint.

I watched these poor creatures being loaded aboard on the Monday before Christmas. That night at around 8 p.m. they were getting ready to sail. All I could do was sadly hope against hope that the notorious seas around Bermuda at this time of year would calm unexpectedly before the Rosellen as she tried to make the East Coast of the US before Christmas.

How can a country which would wish to be regarded as civilised bring this sad spectacle of animal exploitation back next year? Shame on anyone who bought a ticket especially those who should by virtue of their educations know better.

How can anyone be surprised or horrified by expressions of rage and violence in Bermuda's young people and yet condone acts of sustained cruelty against innocent creatures? No one can expect gentleness from a society which has been so desensitised.

DR. A.M. WARE CIETERS

City of Hamilton

A big thank you to Jessie Moniz for her well-researched and thoughtful Major Irritants column?

January 5, 2003

I AM responding to the news of the Fascist-like treatment of Dr. Jonathan Murray. Have we Bermudians slipped so far into the gutter that we feel it necessary to treat another person in this callous way? What of the impact on Dr. Murray's patients and on his staff?

Dr. Murray is a most highly qualified and brilliant man who will be able to practice anywhere he chooses. It is the people of Bermuda who will lose out when he goes.

Don't forget the people responsible for making this decision when you vote in the next General Election. I am very saddened by the overall decline and lack of caring in modern Bermuda.

WILLIAM LUSHER

Pembroke