A lot of folks, dismayed and disgusted by the cruel and callous treatment of non-humans animals by our species, console themselves with notions of Karma, as in: “They’ll get what’s coming to them…” But the trouble with Karma is it’s too damn slow and indiscriminate to stop ongoing abuses and injustices in their tracks. Besides, it’s not guaranteed, and humans don’t always learn from it.

While it’s understandable that people want to see the perpetrators of animal abuse punished, maybe we should focus our energies on the primary objective—to halt current cruelties and head off any potential future threats against the innocents. But I don’t pretend to know how best to do this or to make the ignorant see the light. I find myself torn between two divergent stances held by readers who commented to one of my blog posts (about the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association) a few days ago. First Chris stated:

“They mention that wolves pose a threat to private property, especially livestock. Animals are NOT your private property! End of story. Leave the wolves alone! That being said, I wouldn’t wish mad cow disease on anyone. These people are just ignorant and in denial of the facts. We should show them compassion and try to get them to realize the damage that they do. Very few of us Vegans have been Vegan for life. Most of us had to unlearn what we were taught and work to bring out our natural compassion. That is why I think it is unfair to call names and wish harm upon these people. It does frustrate me as well but we should be the beacon of light to draw others to our way of life and not repel them with vicious attacks and wishes of harm.”

To which Geoff replied: “With all due respect, being ‘ignorant and in denial of the facts’ seems a pretty lame excuse for those promoting and engaging in reprehensible behavior towards wolves and other wild animals. How much traction would that same excuse get in the human political sphere if employed to excuse practices like racial discrimination, genital mutilation, and ethnic cleansing? And why after half-a-century of non-stop “environmental education” in this country do we still have ignorant yokels in denial of ecological facts? Could it just be that stupidity, selfishness, and a pathological intolerance for other sentient beings has more to do with the problem than a simple lack of access to scientific facts?

“It seems that many good-hearted people like yourself that do all the right things in their own personal lives still fail to acknowledge how late is the hour, how desperate is the situation for much of the world’s non-human ‘citizens.’ Hoping that western ranchers who have already extirpated bison, wolves, prairie dogs, badgers, black-footed ferrets, coyotes, mountain lions, et al. from their native habitat will finally come around after just a few more generations of “education” is a fool’s paradise.

“There is nothing wrong about calling a spade a spade, or murderously intolerant selfish ignorant bastards just that. And a good fatal case of mad cow disease seems to me like poetic justice for those who brought this very pathogen into being by feeding discarded parts of slaughtered sheep as a source of cheap protein to cattle themselves being raised for slaughter and then managed to spread it around North America into wild ungulate populations courtesy of game ranches.”

This whole dilemma brings to mind the classic 1986 film, The Mission, in which Robert De Niro plays Rodrigo Mendosa, a guilt-ridden former mercenary and slave-runner who seeks redemption for killing his own brother in a fit of jealousy. As penance, Rodrigo drags a heavy net full of his weaponry (sword, armor, etc.) to a remote mission above an imposing waterfall near the headwaters of the Amazon, to become a missionary under the empathetic guidance of the earnest, nearly Christ-like Father Gabriel (Jeremy Irons).

But the peaceful, priestly existence is cut short by the backward politics of the time (the 18th century), when the area falls under the rule of pro-slavery Portugal. Mendosa and two of his fellow Spanish Jesuit priests decide to fight to protect the Indian tribe under their charge. When Father Gabriel learns of this, he tries to diffuse the violent situation, “If you die with blood on your hands, Rodrigo, you betray everything we’ve done. You promised your life to God. And God is love!” Adding, “If might is right, then love has no place in the world. It may be so, it may be so. But I don’t have the strength to live in a world like that, Rodrigo.”

I see an analogy here, with Geoff in the role of Rodrigo and Chris as Father Gabriel. Unfortunately, both characters are killed by invading Portuguese troops: Rodrigo in battle and Father Gabriel while carrying a cross, leading his congregation in unarmed protest.

“The world is thus,” a plantation owner tells a head of the church, Father Altamirano, after the mission is burned and those Indians who were not killed outright have been taken as slaves.

“No, Señor,” replies Altamirano. “Thus have we made the world.”

Text and Wildlife Photography ©Jim Robertson, 2013. All Rights Reserved