|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Organization for Animal Dignity Mission Statement
By: Mark Schmid
Version: 2010.02.19
|
We believe the correct institution to teach respect for animals is not the government, not the law, not the local animal protection organization, nor us. All these institutions can at most only be servants to the cause. The correct, primary and in the end only valid institution to teach respect for animals are the animals themselves.
Our primary mission therefore is not to teach respect for animals, but to make possible, to facilitate and to assure that the primary institution to teach respect for animals, the animals themselves, can do so as authentic, true and unaltered as possible. Only when animals are hindered, sabotaged or impaired in their ability to teach respect for themselves in a way which we cannot change, do we revert to our secondary mission, which is trying to teach respect for animals ourselves, in their place.
Animals teach respect for themselves through their natural bodies and minds, through their true nature, their natural behavior and through their body language. Therefore we regard these things as sacrosanct, as just a valid, concrete and definite means of communication and as just as valid and respectable expressions of their own will, as human speech and human writing. For these reasons we seek to protect these things just as a lawyer or guardian would protect the free speech or the written testament of a client human being when others threaten or try to change, mutilate, alter or censor them.
We believe it is a defining characteristic of the human animal that it cannot learn very well, or not at all, from things which it looks down upon, from things it sees as its property, as mere objects and means for its own ends, as slaves. Because the property status of animals directly allows humans to see animals that way, we see the property status of animals as the greatest impediment to our primary mission. We believe animals cannot be the institutions to teach respect for themselves, as long as they are not equally respected by people, as those people want to be respected themselves, as long as people do onto animals, what they do not want done onto themselves. Therefore we seek as one of our primary goals the complete eradication and abolition of the property status of animals. We seek to replace the property status of animals with a non-human person status. To this end, we work to replace the "human" right to own an animal with a permission to take care for an animal and to replace the ownership of animals with a guardianship, just as it exists for humans for instance, who are mentally handicapped, are children or for other reasons cannot function as independent and mature persons in our society.
We directly challenge the prevailing notion of animal welfare, because contradictory to our primary goal of increasing respect for animals through eradication of the property status of animals, animal welfare merely regulates the usage of animals as property to be as "painless" and "humane" as possible. When making laws, this boils down to: "When it does not conflict with the intended usage of the animal as property by its owner and his or her interests."
This active participation of animal welfare in the regulation of the use of animals as property and as mere means to humans' ends has the direct consequence, that animal welfare thereby reaffirms, cements and artificially prolongs the property status of animals instead of shortening it. Much like advocating for "humane" and "painless" treatment of human slaves by "humanitarians" would prolong slavery by making it appear to be acceptable, if only it is carried out humanely, whenever possible, instead of demanding its eradication as the fundamental mistake it is in the first place. This makes the aim and work of "animal welfare" directly contradictory to our goal of increasing respect for animals by eradicating their property status.
Despite more respectful contraception methods such as vasectomy and tubual ligitation being available for animals since decades, animal welfare directly sabotages our goal of increasing respect for the animal, by carrying out and propagating the castration of precisely the primary institution to teach respect for animals, animals themselves. Castration and its change of hormones is a severe physical and sexual mutilation, a symbol of enslavement and a means for subjugation and for silencing. It is the ritual of our society to strip an individual even of its most fundamental rights, such as to physical integrity for all times. Therefore castration of an individual is a sign of disrespect like nothing else and thus, castration of animals, who we see as individuals, is a direct and maximum sabotage and attack of animal welfare not only on our primary mission, as well as on respect for animals, but also on the primary institution to teach respect for animals, on animals themselves.
To cause a loss or diminishment of respect for animals in any way, to compromise their dignity, to mutilate, irreversibly alter, in any way diminish their abilities to teach respect for themselves, to breed or to use animals for any reason, is to make them means for human ends, is to violate their rights of self-ownership, of being means to their own ends.
Any individual or institution decreasing respect for animals in any way is working against our goals. Therefore they are our enemy. Individuals and institutions which are believed by many people to be valid teachers for the respect for animals, but are in reality decreasing respect for them, mislead even those seeking to respect animals and thereby do more harm than those individuals or institutions which are well-known to disrespect animals openly. Therefore such individuals or institutions are our primary enemies.
Animal welfare is believed by many people to be the primary institution to teach respect for animals. In reality, animal welfare today is causing a loss of respect for animals like no other institution or individual. Animal welfare sabotages the primary institution to teach respect for animals, by castrating of all institutions precisely that one, animals themselves. Then Animal welfare takes animals' place as the correct institution to teach respect for themselves, as if they wouldn't have an own will and an own purpose, and goes on to spread lies and untruths about animals and their true, unaltered nature, natural dignity, bodies and minds.
Finally, animal welfare cements, reaffirms and prolongs the property status of animals through its active and eager participation in the regulation of their usage as property, as mere means to humans' ends. Animal welfare abuses animals as mere objects for its own means of securing the property status of animals and therefore the lack of respect for animals, as means that may be mutilated, misinterpreted and misrepresented at will to spread lies about, in order to generate sympathies and donations for their business of advocating "painless" and "humane" treatment of those which are not respected, animals. Animal welfare primarily serves its own interests, securing its own existence by securing the necessity for its own existence, which in turn is done by securing a lack of respect for animals, not the interests of animals. For these reasons we understand animal as the cancer in the body of animal liberation that it is today and that must be eradicated before progress can ensue.
As animal welfare sabotages not only the abolition of the property status of animals, but also the primary institution to teach respect for animals, animals themselves, as well as our mission like no other institution, we will sabotage animal welfare. We will become animal welfare saboteurs.
We pursue our goals by trying to teach respect for and knowledge of animals in theory and in practice, as well as by example, by showing maximum respect for animals, especially for those around us or in our responsibility, by cultivating an anti-speciesist attitude and by maintaining a maximum possible vegan lifestyle. We do these things, trying not to be irrationally dogmatic, so as to cause the least amount of harm to animals, while at the same time causing a maximum amount of respect for animals, for our goals and for us in our surroundings. We are not judgmental of people as long as they do not cause a reduction of respect for animals. We realize that everyone matters and is needed, that everyone can make a valuable contribution to our cause of increasing respect for animals.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
