Reagan's daughter comments on dogs as shark bait story

[Guest guest]

[Reagan's daughter comments on dogs as shark bait]

 

 

The Cruelty of Men

If only the story about live dogs being used as shark

bait on a remote

French island could have been a hoax. Sadly, it isn't.

 

WEB-EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY

By Patti Davis

Newsweek

Updated: 3:11 p.m. ET Oct. 11, 2005

 

Oct. 11, 2005 - It sounded like something out of a

horror movie--so

unbelievably cruel it could only exist in fiction or

in the minds of

some

heartless hoaxer. But as the report spread across the

Internet in the

last

week or so, animal rights organizations began to

receive anguished

phone

calls and e-mails. The story? On the French-controlled

island of

Reunion in

the Indian Ocean, live dogs have been reportedly

impaled on large fish

hooks

and left overnight in the ocean as shark bait. One

consistent detail of

the

story was that a puppy that had somehow managed to

free itself from the

fishing line, was found alive in a creek bed, the hook

still embedded

in its

upper lip. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

posted horrific

photographs

on its Web site.

 

Like everyone who came across this story, I wanted it

to not be true. I

wanted to find out it was some horrible, vile prank.

Unfortunately, it

is

true. A Reunion newspaper, le Journal de

l���Ile, reported on Sept. 30

that

some amateur fishermen have been known to use dogs for

shark fishing,

sometimes employing the carcasses of stray animals

found on the island.

This

summer, a man was charged with cruelty against animals

after a live dog

pierced with a hook was found near his home, according

to the

newspaper. The

first person to be caught by authorities using this

illegal fishing

method,

the man admitted he had used live dogs as bait several

times, the

report

said. He could face up to two years in prison as well

as 30,000 Euros

in

fines, according to the newspaper.

 

In response to inquiries about the story, a letter

from the French

Embassy

states, �We too denounce the barbaric practices you

refer to. Such acts

are

obviously illegal and will not be tolerated on French

territory.� It is

worth noting that similar acts were discovered and

reported upon in

2003 on

the island of Reunion, located east of Madagascar with

a population of

less

than 800,000. The island���s newspaper notes

that the practice is not

used by

professional fishermen.

 

It���s tempting, although futile, to ask what

kind of human beings could

even

think of this barbarism, much less carry it out. What

shut down inside

them

that they could immunize themselves to an

animal���s pain and terror, and

toss

it into the water in the hopes that the suffering

animal���s thrashing

will

attract sharks? Do these men go home at night and tuck

their children

into

bed? Congratulate themselves on a good day���s

work? Do they consider

themselves decent human beings who are living their

lives as they were

intended to live them? Do they go to church? Pray?

Convince themselves

that

God is on their side?

 

Such questions are futile because for most of us to

try to navigate the

pathways of uncensored cruelty is truly to travel into

the heart of

darkness--and our own hearts rebel. Here is a better

question: Who are

we if

we don���t send our outrage across continents

and oceans and demand

answers?

 

We���re all accountable in this life for what we

do. The men committing

these

atrocities may have managed to live lives with no

conscience, but too

many

others know that a life with no conscience is a

worthless one. The sad

truth

about this world is that there seems to be no limit to

the cruelty that

some

people are capable of. It���s up to the rest of

us to pledge never to be

silent and never to look the other way.

 

As horrific as this story is--even if it is only a few

�ruthless

individuals��� as the French Embassy has

said--it���s important to

recognize

that people have not been silent. A small island in

the vast Indian

Ocean

has felt the wrath of people around the globe, and has

had to provide

answers and explanations.

 

In its letter, the French Embassy adds: �The French

minister for

agriculture

and fisheries, Dominique Bussereau, is fully aware of

the international

media and public outcry regarding this issue, and has

written to the

French

National Assembly to emphasize that several measures

have been taken to

strengthen already exiting laws. Veterinarians have

been directed to

immediately report any suspicious wounds to

authorities �� They went on

to

say, �The authorities on the island are closely

monitoring the

situation �

All suspicions of such acts will be investigated, and

animal protection

organizations that have any specific information on

these matters are

strongly encouraged to inform French police

authorities.�

 

Any act of cruelty is a window into evil and

shouldn���t be ignored.

There are

people in this world who have deadened their hearts,

who without

hesitating

inflict unbearable pain and suffering on others,

especially those who

have

no voice. It���s up to the rest of us to call on

our own hearts, to

remember

that our voices are loud and our spirits are powerful

weapons against

barbarism. It might be the best way to create a more

peaceful

world--one

life (human or animal) at a time.

 

Davis, the daughter of Nancy and Ronald Reagan, is a

writer based in

Los

Angeles.

 

 

 

 

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