6 Heartbreaking Wishes for 2016: If Animals Could Talk, What Would They Wish For?
As the year comes to an end, we often find ourselves reflecting on our lives and resolving to make positive changes. Let these animals inspire you to make more compassionate choices in 2016.
1. ‘I Wish for a Family to Love Me Again’
Thousands of dogs and cats end up in animal shelters across Australia each year. Unfortunately, because of the vast numbers of puppies and kittens being bred and the huge numbers of litters being born to un-desexed animals, dogs and cats in shelters often don’t stand a fair chance of finding their “forever family”. Please don’t support breeders or pet stores in 2016, and pledge to de-sex any animal currently in your care.
2. ‘I Wish People Would Stop Staring at Me’
Animals used for entertainment in zoos, circuses, marine parks and other places of captivity often suffer from extreme frustration, boredom, stress and depression. Choose not to support these businesses in 2016, and share this information with your friends and family, too!
3. ‘I Wish My Baby Could Stay With Me’
Cows used by the dairy industry are forcibly impregnated and repeatedly endure the stressful and traumatic experience of having their babies torn from them – often within hours or days of birth. Pledge to choose healthy plant-based milks from now on, and enjoy all the taste with none of the cruelty.
4. ‘I Wish They Would Let Me Keep My Fur’
The fur industry involves unimaginable cruelty. Please choose humane faux fur, and help us urge Sydney’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival to go fur free in 2016.
5. ‘I Wish I Could Have the Chance to Grow Up’
Like all animals used for food, pigs are generally sent to slaughter at a young age and denied the chance to live out their natural lifespan. During their short lives, they may experience such torture as castration and having their tails and the ends of their teeth cut off – all without painkillers. Luckily, there are lots of delicious cruelty-free alternatives on the market. Make the compassionate decision to leave pork off your fork from now on.
6. ‘I Wish Someone Cared About Me’
Video ©PETA US
Many people are surprised to learn that some cosmetics, personal-care products and household cleaning products are still tested on animals. Check whether any products in your cupboards fall into this category and then replace them with the equivalent cruelty-free option.
Want to do even more to help animals this year? Why not make 2016 the year you go vegan?
Since mainstream food chains offer plant-based menu choices and major supermarkets stock a plethora of vegan meals and other cruelty-free products, it’s never been easier to make this compassionate choice – for animals, for your health and for the environment.
