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Animals
and Landmines
Whether
it be peace time or in conflict, animals are suffering horrific
deaths and injuries caused by human waged destruction.
We
often hear of landmines causing death and severe injury to
innocent people, but animals are suffering the same fate ...
In fact ten or twenty times more animals are killed and maimed
from landmines every single day.
Hundreds of millions of these hidden killers lay usually invisible
just underneath earth or foliage - on roadsides, paths fields
and scattered around woodlands.
People of wartorn countries are unable to plant their fields
or even walk to the clinics or visit friends. Children can't
walk to school or play in their neighbourhood.
Animals, both wild and farmed roam free across the danger
areas under the constant threat of being blown up.
In
fact, the mortality rate of animals in mined areas is so high
it has reduced livestock in some countries by half. For example,
In the pre "9/11" Afghan war during the 90's, Afghans
suffered a total loss of more than 75,000 animals due to mines
... more than 50% of the total number of livestock.
Landmines
sit silent and deadly just below the surface in many countries
of the world. And in most cases no one knows exactly where
these indiscriminately strewn killers are. There are even
millions of mines left over from from World War 2. Although
slightly easier to detect - because they were made of metal
- these 60 year old mines are still taking innocent lives.
Modern mines are very hard to find, made of undetectable plastics
and alloys. For example in Angola the legacy of a war, which
finished in 2002, has left nearly five million hard-to-detect
landmines indiscriminately scattered across the country.
The Project
Mkono web pages track the gruesome correlation
between animals and landmines. The informative site is dedicated
to a silverback gorilla killed by a landmine in Rwanda.
Amongst some of the incidents mentioned are eyewitness reports
of herds of cows, elephants and numerous other creatures blown
to pieces by mines.
Not
only are animals inadvertent victims of landmines, but there
are cases where animals are used as "live triggers"
to clear roadsides and fields.
In
1997 a report said that Bosnian locals were letting sheep
loose in unsafe areas as a barbaric method of exploding the
mines.
In El Salvador, pigs were used to find and detonate mines.
(Source: Arana, 1992).
It is reported that, "During Iran's 1980-1988 war with
Iraq, entire classes of boys were brought to the front as
"scouts" and sent forward over enemy minefields.
Tehran had previously used sheep, but decided even children
were to be involved in the war effort." (Source:
Chelmminski, 1994. p.29)
In a report on Zimbabwe: "Many people could not return to
their villages and farms after their independence. Those who
did, pushed their cattle ahead to detonate the mines."
Who is dealing with "humane" landmine clearance?
There is a variety of landmine based charities dealing with
various aspects of the problem. The Halo
Trust specialize in the removal of the debris of
war and have over 4,850 mineclearers in 9 countries. Their
operations are always increasing. Adopt-A-Landmine
do a similar job and run mine action projects in 6 countries.
There is an element of contention regarding these mine clearing
organizations because in some areas they use trained sniffer
dogs to detect mines. Although one would assume that technological
alternatives must be available as a preference to using dogs,
it is argued that perhaps the low mortality rate of sniffer
dogs in relation to the many animals (and humans) saved from
death and injury may justify the dogs usefulness to save hundreds
of other lives.
Animal
deaths from mines source: Project
Mkono
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Looking-Glass
/ VeggieGlobal Comment
This web retreat
is presented through a harmonically aligned philosophy, a
part of which describes a principle of natural foresight in
human behaviour. Therefore you'll often find comments and
articles presented as precursors to events, which ultimately
"play out" as predicted.
The case of animals
suffering throughout the 2003 Iraq war is a classic example.
Frequent site visitors will be aware of such articles here
at the time warning of the potential animal problem long before
the war began. The rest of the web has sprouted pockets of
media based concern regarding these issues, such as rather
irrelevant polls as to whether animals should be used by the
military or not. All rather futile and displaced since in
a way this is "closing the barn door after the horse
has bolted".
Where are these polls and petitions in peace-time? - before
a major conflict? It seems that many of these token gestures
are created by media publications who are just jumping on
the compassion bandwagon. Their polls will disappear as soon
as the public loose interest, and the war becomes a thing
of the past. However the problem does NOT go away, such as
the thousands more landmines and unexploded bombs which now
litter the land of Iraq - These will be posing serious threats
not only to animals but people for many years to come.
People and the
media, latch on to animal suffering only when the humanitarian
issues have calmed down. In other words, after the event,
when it's usually too late for the animals. Of course, many
argue that human welfare comes before animals ... but they
are just as much the victims of suffering during a war conflict,
and more to the point, the animals continue to suffer long
after... and above all, it's not their war.
For example, how can a neglected zoo animal get its food?
A caged animal can't even attempt to try to find food
for itself. Why do occupying armies not provide animal handlers,
advisors and vets as part of their war engagements? Humans
cause these crazy wars, so why create even more layers of
suffering for other species of earth-life?
Before any war
activity, surely imminent action should be "legally" taken
to at least ensure the welfare of caged animals. How about
an International law (i.e. an extension of the Geneva convention)
which states that all caged animals at risk of suffering through
impending war activity should be removed to safe areas, where
they can be looked after throughout the conflict? ... (now
that's a petition we should all be signing)
Footnote
on Iraq War
By 2005 it had
become common practice for insurgents in Iraq to strap bombs
to dogs and blow them up as convoys pass by.
Donkeys pulling carts of explosives are also being used for
similar purposes.
Tell
Looking-Glass about your animals affected by war
Over
the coming months Looking-Glass and VeggieGlobal would like
to receive information and your experiences about animals
affected by war conflicts.
Please contact us
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Animals
at Sea
Apart
from well documented stories of dolphins being used to aid
the discovery and clearance of mines, sea mammals are dying
by the hundreds even outside of war torn areas of the world.
It has recently transpired that Naval warships are causing
death to hundreds of whales and dolphins world-wide through
the use of sonar. Spanish scientists in the Canaries have
found new evidence showing that mammals are dying from decompression:
better known to divers as "the Bends". The deaths are linked
to underwater sonar, used by the ships to hunt submarines.
When the ships trigger the sonar, whales and dolphins appear
to become disorientated and subsequently rise to the water
surface much too quickly. Some species of whales, known to
spend a lot of time in deep sea areas, are being found dead
on beaches just hours after naval warships have carried out
sonar based manoeuvres in the imediate facinity.
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Animals
in the Line of Fire
In
Iraq for example, American smart bombs may have been fairly
precise in their targets, and although they may take all precautions
to avoid hitting schools, hospitals and public areas, do they
also consider zoos and other animal environments near their
targets as areas to avoid?
Most
of us have heard about the atrocities that took place in Kabul
Zoo in Afghanistan. Grenades were thrown into cages, and the
animals were left in misery.
The
Siberian Crane is globally endangered. During the American
bombing runs in Afghanistan during 2001/2 the Cranes and tens
of thousands of ducks and other birds were disturbed during
their migration. Now, entire bird populations have since gone
missing across the entire Afghan and Pakistan region, which
is a major migratory route for many species.
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Animals
in War