Animal Have Feelings Too, Just Like Us, Human
Trip Start
Unknown
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Trip End
Ongoing
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Thursday, August 25, 2011
we are simply friends who believe non-human animals are irreplaceable individuals with morally significant interests thus their welfare should be seriously taken into consideration. This includes the right to live free from unnecessary suffering and exploitation.
we are simply friends who support sustainable living as it is in natural balance and respectful of humanity’s symbiotic relationship with the Earth’s natural ecology and cycles
we are simply friends who work voluntary to be the voice for animals through proactive education and advertising campaigns, research, rescues and working with related organizations and or communities, and grassroots activism
we are simply friends who are small in number and resources but still we take that challenge with big heart
we are simply friends
Those words are stated on Mission Statement of Animal Friend Jogja (AFJ). This is a non profit organization based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia & is commited to improving the welfare of the animals through proactive education and advertising campaigns, research, rescues and working with related organizations, communities, and grassroots activism. We endeavour to relieve suffering and overpopulation by providing medical care, sterilization, and adoption/fostering/sponsorship for stray-neglected-abused companion animals and by educating children and adults in animal welfare & nature conservation. That's what they wrote about themselves on their website.
My first acquaintance with AFJ was the time when I had a thinking of animal welfare. I think, it is important for us in Indonesia to have such community that has a concern to the welfare of animal being. I was once a nourish of some kind of animal. Not only the docile kind, but also wild animal.
I had a pair of cat, a pair of rabbit, various kind of birds, and a pair of owl. They all are lived in my house together with me and the rest of family member. Loosing my owls was the day when I learn about how we, human, used to keep the wild animal grows freely in their natural habitat. Human house is not their house, cage is worst. They will live like they are in a jail when you move them to your (not their) habitat.
The vet told me that my owls died of poison. The autopsy made it clear: The liver destroyed by poison reaction. The poison comes from the meat bacteria that toxins formed upon reaction of bacteria found in raw meat. Although placed in refrigerator, the bacteria in the flesh does not disappear, instead just reacting to the poison. Owls do eat raw meat.
Since I am too busy to provide them fresh meat everyday (go to the market every single day!), so I buy meat for the needs of a week and store it in refrigerator. This is what causes the death of my owl. They should eat fresh meat from animals who had just died. Naturally, owls eat mice and small birds. In the wild, they can get it easily. When confined in a cage, like I do on them, they will not be able to find their own fresh food.
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The death of my owls made me think about the human necessity to keep the habitat of animals and let them live wild in nature. Therefore, I began to hate the trade of animals, especially the protected wild animals.
October 23, 2010, I intend to create such a group on the Facebook site. This group I wanted to make is to unite the animal lovers who want to let the animals get a proper life as animal. To make sure that there will be no duplication group, I tried googling: whether similar groups already exist in Indonesia.
It was a surprised when I found AFJ: They are all I need! And the biggest surprise was: Their basecamp is in Yogyakarta, the same city where I live, but I never heard their name yet till that day!
I added the profile as a friend. Then I came to their website and wrote a comment as my willing to join this community as a volunteer. Two days after that, I received a replied from AFJ to my email. Then, the mail was replied by me, re-replied by them, and so on, till I no longer had time to make any reply when I was busy to help JALIN Merapi community in facing the eruption of Merapi volcano.
Suddenly, an email from AFJ received on my inbox, spreading the info about their works around Mount Merapi to help animals. Again, I was so surprise: while everybody else busy with human being, there are hearts to help the animal which are also became the victims of the eruption. Yes, they are a specific handle for people's livestock, but others animal who lives around the mount, such as pets (cats, dogs), wild animal from the forest surroundings (deer, tiger, monkey, etc) are not included!
During Merapi evacuation, there are some community that work for the same concern, such as Relawan Satwa (animal volunteer), Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN), Center for Orang Utan Protection (COOP), and some other else.
I'm giving much appreciation to these communities. They teach me that animals have feelings too, just like us, human!
