On this International Day of Non-Violence, we return to Mahatma Gandhiโs timeless reminder: โThe greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.โ
Non-violence cannot be selective. It cannot apply only to humans while excluding animals. Every day, billions of sentient beings suffer and die for food, fashion, experimentation, and entertainment. This cycle of violence diminishes not only them, but us as a society.
๐น ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐:
Globally, over ๐ด๐ฌ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐น๐ are killed each year for food. In South Africa alone, more than ๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป๐ are slaughtered annually โ many confined in cages or overcrowded sheds where they cannot express natural behaviours.
๐น ๐๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ผ๐ป:
Tens of millions of animals such as foxes, mink, rabbits, and even dogs are killed every year for ๐ณ๐๐ฟ, ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐. Sheep are bred in their hundreds of millions for wool, with countless animals suffering injuries during shearing.
๐น ๐๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป:
Over ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ are used in experiments every year, often subjected to painful procedures without pain relief. Rabbits, dogs, primates, and rodents endure lives of confinement for products we can easily test without cruelty.
๐น ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐:
Elephants, lions, tigers, and dolphins are still exploited in ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฒ๐, ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐. In South Africa, wild animals continue to be bred, traded, and displayed under the guise of โeducationโ and โtourism.โ
โ๏ธ These numbers are staggering โ but they are not destiny. ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐.
โจ ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ผ:
โ Choose ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐-๐ฏ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ that save lives every day.
โ Buy ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐น๐๐-๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ and ๐๐ช๐-๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ products.
โ Say no to ๐ณ๐๐ฟ, ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐.
โ Boycott ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฒ๐, ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐น๐ผ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
โ Support ๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป to end animal exploitation.
๐ True non-violence means ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐. On this day, letโs commit to extending our circle of compassion โ for humans, for animals, and for the planet.
