The Earth is the most vital part of our wellbeing. However, we fail to realise that it is not only ours but also all other living beings. As a ‘Green Flag’ awarded school, we pupils recently conducted a survey among our peers to find statistics on the present condition of stray animals, especially in residential localities.
It is discouraging to note that the findings were tremendously shocking. When asked about the number of cats in their locality, most answered that it varied from around five to ten, with more occasionally turning up, just to vanish again when garbage dumps are emptied. A few of the more concerned students also added that they would often see cats and kittens being abused and after a while, so bruised and injured that they would eventually die. Many more saddening facts were revealed, such as the fact that some cats have no food to eat at all. In light of this report, the ‘Our Own Eco Club’ decided to launch a campaign called ‘Protect the paws, Save our furry friends’ in order to spread cognisance on the miserable conditions of these fellow beings. Although we are still in the process of collecting information, and haven’t physically helped these cats and kittens out, we aim to be able to do so in the near future.
The primary purpose of this campaign is to spread awareness on the miserable conditions of felines in the UAE. I see animals, especially cats and kittens being abused on a daily basis such as people kicking or throwing stones at them. Children may find such acts as fun and entertaining, and that is specifically what we are working to change, the attitude of finding violence and abuse as fun. We, the pupils will prepare documentaries and surveys regarding the number and conditions of cats in our localities. We will then publish these reports for the rest of the student body of our school to refer to.
Apart from such awareness propagation, we also formed groups to feed and monitor the cats in our residential localities in order to reduce their dependence on getting food from garbage dumps as this is not healthy nor is it hygenic. As for now, our main purpose is to stop animal abuse and raise awareness in order to save our ‘furry friends’ because they are of the same value as we are.
I urge residents of the UAE to try to ensure that the stray cats in their area are, if not tended to, at least kept safe from animal abuse.
The picture below shows a group of cats eating something they have found on the street.
-The reader is a pupil based in Sharjah
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