Culture Shock: Animal Treatment in Hawassa
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As a massive animal lover, to the extent where it’s a bit over the top, I find the treatment of animals here in Hawassa shocking and difficult to understand. I appreciate I am in Africa where lots of humans are treated appallingly, but I don’t believe issues should be ignored just because they are seen as less important.
I now well and truly know where the saying ‘Donkeys work’ comes from, the poor creatures are worked into the ground, they have a purpose here and can carry heavy loads long distances, yes, the people here need them to carry out their jobs, yes I have no problem with either of those things. However what I do have a problem with is the blatant and inexcusable animal abuse I see every day.
The donkeys walk like their legs are going to break, the roads are covered in huge rocks and stones that even I trip over constantly and they make them run along them for no reason at all, what’s wrong with walking? The animals are obviously not built for speed. The wooden carts they pull are poorly designed which means once removed their muscle and bones are exposed. In addition to their unforgiving duties they are whipped relentlessly for no reason at all, all day. I have seen people whacking them with wood, metal, chain and I even saw a man down my road whacking an off duty donkey with a metal spade repeatedly and couldn’t help but shout at him.
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A different man down my road was walking alongside his donkey perfectly happily and saw me and decided to start whacking it with a plank of wood while raising his eyebrows as if that behavior would impress me!? I told him that disgusts me and I think he understood my tone if not my language.
I am unsure if it’s a power trip or maybe a status symbol to ruin a beautiful animal but the people here definitely think this behavior is impressive, and they definitely think foreigners see it as impressive.
There are many other animals roaming around all day, cats are my favorite animals, but here they are skinny and filthy and its normal to see people kicking them or throwing them out the way. There are also lots of cattle roaming around the streets, generally with a small child that will continue to hit them with sticks when they are just standing in one place. I keep seeing them being fed newspaper and it actually makes my blood boil, especially as contrary to popular belief there is no shortage of food here – not in Hawassa anyway.
The animals that seem to have it good here are the stray dogs and the monkeys, the moneys swing around the town all day causing mischief and they always look clean and content. The stray dogs snooze in the shade all day and then emerge in small packs or with their puppies in the evening. I have a stray corgi at the end of my road which I find hilarious – it just seems so out of place!
I also saw two goats earlier with their feet tied together with rope being carried along by a man who was trying to sell them by their feet, he kept just throwing them on the floor making them land on their backs which was making them cry really loudly… I just don’t understand why he was doing that!? Why not just walk them along by his side? Surely people would be more inclined to buy them that way! I have seen plenty of others moving around by foot!
I recently noticed shop keepers running outside with wooden sticks to scare off the street children in the same way you would expect someone to frighten off a stray dog, and this highlighted to me the lack of respect for human life, and the inequality they face so I can understand why my disapproval for animal treatment may seem misplaced.
I am actually considering becoming a vegetarian on my return to the UK as I have only had meat two or three times since I got here and I haven’t actually missed it, and I know how inhumane the British meat industry is.
I don’t think the people here understand that they will make more money and get more from their animal if they treat them better.
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