Has the human race not evolved to be more intelligent and compassionate in the last 1900 years?

Circa 80AD Emperor Vespasian’s son Titus opened the Colosseum in Rome, with 100 days of “sporting events” including gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights.

In many countries, there continues to be cruelty to animals for the “entertainment” of humans, such as bullfighting, cockfighting, dogfighting, bear baiting and so on.

Admittedly, these types of “entertainment” often involve the killing of animals and the suffering is blatantly obvious.

But even today the human race is “entertained” by the spectacle of animals forced to act out roles not natural to their species.

I put pig racing into this category.

We, as Australians, have expressed horror at the way “our animals” are treated by other countries. Circuses using animals are banned from many council areas.

Apart from the gambling aspect (and that is another story altogether), why is it not entertainment to watch an animal at ease in its natural habitat?

There are so many wonderful wildlife documentaries and photographs available these days that have not involved any type of cruelty or disturbance to the animals involved.

I don’t think we should be teaching our children to think of animals as entertainment, and we certainly should not be teaching them to gamble. The combination of the two is simply cruel and unethical.

There are many ways to fundraise that do not include animals. Please let loose your creativity and intelligence to find these and leave animals out of it!

For some considerable months I have considered writing a letter regarding the appalling condition of the area around the old Bega Ambulance Station.

The grass and weeds have completely taken over the path in Canning Street and I can no longer stoop down far enough with my wheel walker because the low tree branches are growing out across the walkway in Bega Street.

I understood that action will be taken “in the coming weeks”!

Surely two able-bodied men with a whipper-snipper and lawnmower could at least clean the undergrowth.

As for the trees?

Allow me to share some facts that seem unlikely to be addressed during International Dairy Week.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of “bobby calves" are born on dairy farms, only to be torn from their loving mothers within hours of birth. 

Mother cows instantly bond with their babies and often frantically cry out for days after they are taken away. 

These calves are irreplaceable to their mothers but useless to the dairy industry, so they are sent to markets when they are less than a week old.

Cows on dairy farms are artificially inseminated to ensure that they give birth every 13 months.

When their bodies wear out and their milk production wanes, they also are sent to abattoirs, where they are shot in the head with a bolt gun, hung by one leg, have their throats cut and are skinned, gutted and dismembered, often while still conscious.

A cow’s natural lifespan can reach 20 years - cows on dairy farms rarely live longer than seven.

Humans don’t need to drink cows’ milk, and we’re healthier if we don’t.

So why not mark International Dairy Week by going dairy-free?