Imagine a diverse neighborhood that is crawling with school children all hours of the day. As soon as the elementary school bell rings at 2:30pm, all the children flock to my block like pigeons over a bag of Doritos. Another thing that inhabits most of my connected back yard is a diverse selection of animals. Immature kids plus defenseless animals equals a bad omen.
The main problem that I can’t tolerate in my neighborhood is the disrespect for animals. My neighborhood has a lot of children living here, so when they get their grubby hands on an animal: they will a) capture it, b) maim it and c) leave it for dead somewhere. For example, near the local junior high school, a mother cat gave birth to a litter of kittens. Unfortunately, a boy about 11 years old found her nest underneath a bush and stole a tom kitten that was only 2 weeks old. The boy then proceeds to light it on fire with a can of hair spray and a disposable lighter, just for “fun”. The next day I was able to bait the kitten with a can of tuna fish and give him a nice home with a friend. This problem is also evident in the marine biology lab at our school. The lab has a wide array of animals, and to the students, this might as well be Toys R’ Us. As quoted by Ricky: “They treat them like they are not living things, more like a toy for their amusement, not thinking about its feelings and its safety. Ask your self this question: "What if someone pulled my arms off, just to watch me squirm around defensely."
Animals are living organisms too. They play a vital role in the circle of life in our ecology. For example the lady bug helps our gardens from being over populated by aphids, therefore yielding us more crops and flowers. Kids obviously don’t understand this concept and try to destroy them. Although they have a foul tasting toxin in defense against predators, they have no defense against a curious 10 year old. In trying to help my community to be aware of the organisms inhabiting our backyard, I have created feeding stations for all different species and shelter also. I also give scientific facts to those who will listen.
"Would you hurt me?"
