Blog #40
Anthropomorphism!
That’s enough syllables to be the first line of a haiku.
So …, the 1964 Edition of the Funk & Wagnalls New
Practical Standard Dictionary of the ENGLIGH LANGUAGE defines anthropomorphism,
a noun, as the ascription of human attributes, feelings, conduct, or
characteristics to God or any spiritual being, or to the powers of nature. This is a combining form from Greek, anthropos,
signifying of, pertaining to, or like man, with morphe, also Greek, which means
form.
There seems to be a set of persons who anthropomorphize
animals. I’m not referring to
overdubbing a cute phrase while the dog or cat is moving their mouth or even setting
animals walking or jumping to music.
These are harmless and cute, especially when applied to otters or sheep,
at least in my opinion.
It ceases to be cute when it’s applied to factors that
can be detrimental to an animal’s health.
People who insist that their cat or dog is “happy” with a vegan diet, or
that three or more dogs together are just hanging out together are engaging in
behavior that can risk their own, the animal’s, or others’ health (please
forgive me if I punctuated that incorrectly).
Sheep and cattle can withstand subfreezing temperatures
for a certain period of time. The bigger
concern is access to water and food than the ambient temperature. If there is shelter from wind and even
limited protection from precipitation, animals will survive. That marbling on your steak? That is part of the steer’s energy stores to
get them through lean times prior to domestication. If a meat producer is seeking weight gains to
get animals up to market weight, of course they will want to shelter the
livestock so their energy can go into gains, not survival.
There is no need to assume that an animal is suffering
because it is cold outside. They have
the physiology to withstand the conditions. Livestock operations across the American northern
tier supplement forage with energy buckets, molasses, grain, alfalfa, or other
dense nutrition. They don’t build a shed
to house 10,000 animals at one time.
Feeding animals until they won’t eat anymore is not going
to maintain healthy weight and body function on any animal and is another
unhealthy example of anthropomorphism.
If a dog just finished cleaning up their bowl of food, they’ll still eat
another bowl, a hamburger patty, and the jar of peanut butter that was
accidentally left out. Veterinarians
often tell owners their animal needs to lose weight, not gain it. Feeding animals ultra-rich, high-energy foods
as a matter of course will increase the likelihood of negative anthropomorphism
in reality. High blood pressure, high
cholesterol, and excessive fattiness, coupled with joint damage from carrying
extra weight around is real in pets.
I’m in no way saying that one should be able to count the
ribs in an animal—that’s not healthy, either.
Listen to what your veterinarian is telling you regarding your animal’s
optimum weight and diet.
Also, don’t apply human behavior characteristics to
animals. Sheep are prey animals, and as
such, in situations where their instincts cause them to feel under threat they
will attempt to escape or lash out. Many
herd, pack, or flock animals live in a hierarchy. The biggest ram will nearly always attempt to
knock down smaller rams. Older female
orcas are the heads of their family pod.
This order provides for the security and success of future generations. These types of identifiable behavior exist in
many types of animals. Just because
animal exhibit a certain behavior, don’t infer it’s from a higher level of
thinking.
Some of the worst injuries I’ve received while shearing
are from animals that the owner swore was “an angel.” While livestock have been domesticated, their
natural instincts are still there. Animals
have a fight or flight instinct. This
provides for them to continue their species into future generations.
In most cases animals look at a situation and
instinctively assess three things: Can I
eat this? Can this eat me? Can I reproduce with this? If they think they can eat it, or don’t know
they can’t, they may try to chew on it.
Why does almost every puppy nibble on things, and often shoes? They don’t understand it’s not food, and
shoes can be salty. If an animal feels
it can be eaten it will seek a way out unless cornered, then it will fight. Try putting a feral cat in a kitty carrier
for a trip to the vet to validate this.
You want to help the cat but are seen as a threat. Incidentally, if you want to do this without
wearing leather gloves and a long-sleeved coat, call me. I’ll bring popcorn and camera to record
it. Just kidding. But I will laugh if you need stitches
after. Finally, male dogs rubbing
repeatedly against a leg, or the couch is a continuation of the assessment.
With the cold weekend weather Georgia has experienced
this year, one may believe that all animals
must be indoors or they will die.
Not so. They may get chilled or
they may lose weight, but they will likely survive if they are provided a
respite from the rawest part of the weather and are allowed to engage in their
instinctive behavior, such as crowding into a tight herd or flock, heading to
the bottom of a canyon or wash (where the water is), or nestling behind a large
brush patch for shelter from the wind.
Animals have more instinctive sense than humans do, or at
least they don’t override it with their hubris.
Ask Dede how often I go outside in my socks when it’s freezing. Animals are fine with water, food, shelter
from harsh elements, and collective protection in inclement weather. They don’t need unlimited food, a heated shed,
or Gatorade.
If livestock are provided the opportunity and resources
to care for themselves in what humans consider harsh conditions, they’ll
survive, especially in Georgia. It
doesn’t stay that cold, that long. In 5-6 months, watch what farmers are
doing—they are ensuring their animals have water, feed, and access to shade, shelter
from the harshest sun. Livestock doesn’t
need air conditioning as Americans have come to expect for themselves.
When you’re driving around with the heater on full-blast
and run inside when you get home, don’t call the ASPCA because you saw a few
cattle, goats, or sheep in a field.
They’ll most likely be fine.
Unlike humans they can withstand swings in temperature, humidity, wind,
and living conditions much better than we can.
C-Ya!
*** No animals were harmed in the making of this post.
Shearing is an important part of sheep farming for the wellbeing of the sheep.
***
Shelly-- thank you for the photographic support!!
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