The War on Animals

By Karey Burek

I recently read an article that discussed the issue of war and who or what was most affected by it. Of course, people near and far feel the influence of war, but what about the animals? The special that aired on the National Geographic Channel last year struck a nerve with the public that saw this special. One animal in particular, the male lion, drew the most attention. The reason there was such a public outcry for this animal after the special was aired, did not happen because he was big and beautiful, but because he was a creature on the brink of death.

So the story goes, The Kabul Zoo, located in Afghanistan, was under attack about two years ago. Afghan soldiers would use the animals as target practice and they would tease the starving animals with food scraps only to yank the food away as the animal came closer. The lion however, received the worse punishment. A soldier threw a grenade into his enclosure and being so hungry, he pounced on it just as it exploded in his face. He was blinded completely in one eye, partially in the other, most of his teeth were knocked out and he was completely deaf. His face was mangled and his spirit, broken. He died in January of 2002, only four months after the grenade incident.

This made me think about war throughout the ages and how it has affected the animals around us. I did some research and what I found was amazing.

In 1991, during the Gulf War, 10s of thousands of birds, fish and turtles were killed by crude oil spilling into the Persian Gulf. Smoke from the oil fires killed migrating birds and poisoned the ecosystem. The animals in the Kuwait Zoo suffered the same treatment as the animals in the Kabul Zoo.

Dogs were used as soldiers in the Vietnam War and some were even named as heroes. Horses during World War I were used by the British in Egypt and Jordan, but were abandoned when the war was over. Elephants were used in the same way during the time of Alexander the Great.

Animals have played a major role in wars, either through suffering at the hands of humans, or fighting at man's side.I was taught that we meet ourselves, when we meet an animal"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other than human."