Being an animal lover does not make you a “good” person. After all, Adolf Hitler loved dogs. But my personal conjecture is that people who abuse animals are universally “bad” people. And people who love one class of animals so often seem to love others. At Nature’s Heart we absolutely love them all from leguaans in the water to scarabs in the dung.
A simple observation is that you will never find a bird enthusiast shooting rhinos – bird watching is incompatible with poaching. This is where the youth become so important. If we can capture a curiosity and enthusiasm for our natural heritage among schoolkids today, we can stop massive problems tomorrow. Start with your own children and the animals around you – the family dog, the lizards on your walls, your garden insects, and (needless to say), your garden birds.
Another observation is that so many birders have pet dogs they love dearly. I end this blog with a homage to a great dog loving queen. Queen Henrietta Maria reigned as consort in the mid- seventeenth century. At the time you could only be in one of 4 corners religeously; you could be Anglican, Puritan, Catholic or Presbyterian. Henrietta Maria’s only “crime” was that she was Catholic, and she has been relegated to some obscurity as a result. (Some have called her the “forgotten” queen).
But Henrietta Maria gets a nod from me because she was a noted dog lover. (She also loved visual and performing art). Her finest hour was when she darted from cover whilst under artillery bombardment and truly risked her life to save her favourite dog. It does not surprise me that history is being reviewed, and she is slowly starting to be recognised as a great woman.
