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Dogs or humans: Let's get our priorities right
As a cyclist I was disgusted to read of a woman who killed three bikers while driving her car drunk and is now out on bail, having the audacity to appeal a measly two-year prison sentence.
On the same page of your June 1 edition was a report on prison sentences, albeit mostly suspended, handed down to people harming or killing dogs, often while warding off attacks by these animals.
Surely that woman shouldn't be free on bail, but behind bars,and not for two years but at least 10 for snuffing out three precious lives while driving drunk.
It seems that, since the inception of the Prevention of Animal Cruelty Act, the life and welfare of dogs is taking precedence over that of humans!
John L Sheppard
No reason to abolish animal-welfare law
Re: "Animal cruelty act debated after string of dog killings", National June 1.
Once again critics of the act complain that dogs have more rights than people. But why can't we judge killing dogs the same way we judge killing humans - on an individual basis? Killing a dog for good reason - such as self-defence doesn't violate the law. Anyone doing so without a good reason is guilty.
The fact that sometimes a law might be unfairly enforced doesn't mean you abolish it. Otherwise there would be no laws!
Eric Bahrt
People still suckling from cows on Word Milk Day
What image comes to mind when you hear the word "milk"? Most people would see a glass of cow's milk. Few people would picture a baby sucking from its mother's breast, yet this would be a more fitting image because milk, according to the Oxford dictionary, is "an opaque white fluid rich in fat and protein, secreted by female mammals for the nourishment of their young".
Cow milk is intended only for baby calves - so who do
most people now view bovine baby milk as an "important" human food?
The answer is indoctrination. From childhood we are taught that "cows give us milk". As adults, we are cleverly duped by the dairy industry into believing we need dairy for good health and strong bones. So we blithely go through life consuming dairy, never stopping to think how absurd it is to be suckling from a cow.
But the worst thing about drinking cow's milk is the cruelty. Each year hundreds of thousands of calves are brought into the world for the sole purpose of killing them and stealing their milk for profit. June 1, already past, was World Milk Day, but we should be giving cow's milk the flick and switching to wholesome, delicious plant-based milks that are specifically formulated for humans - not calves.
Jenny Moxham
Victoria, Australia
Duterte stays silent on politicians'private armies
Incoming president Rodrigo Duterte is silent on how he will dismantle the private armies in the Philippines. It is a wellknown fact that a number of politicians maintain a huge arsenal of sophisticated and high-powered guns and ammunition more lethal than what our police and military have.
The outgoing Aquino administration did not show an ounce of bravery to confront these warlords in the provinces. Let us see how Duterte will prove untrue the saying, "Six months under the full moon, according to the fool." Can Duterte's programmes (where the brave dare not go) put an end to the reality of "power growing out of the barrel of the gun" in many areas controlled by political dynasties?
I personally believe, "Duterte can very well breeze through this task."
Isidro C Valencia
(From Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN)
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