Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Meet the Animals...

Here's a quick except from Rafi's daily journal from 06/01 as he went to Pineland Farms. Pineland was formerly a psychiatric hospital (one of those foreboding Victorian types for the 'feeble-minded' of past times) until the mid-nineties and has been transformed into a business/educational center but also retains a working farm and many trails for all sorts of personal pursuits... 'We got to feed and milk the cows! Rafi shows no fear of the cows! He ran right into the barn and couldn't wait to pet them. We also got to go into the chicken pen and collect eggs. Rafi was laughing at all the chickens when they circled around him. At one point he got so excited he did a little dance. It was very cute. At the end of the tour we went to the 'farm yard' to see the goats and rabbits.' It's wonderful to hear about Rafi interacting with animals - and whilst we are conflicted about how he will interact given the commercial interests that are usually paramount in these operations i.e zoos, circuses and wildlife parks which are basically prisons for animals - we are still keen for Raf to learn and be aware of animals and their natural needs (not humans) in the best possible ways. Explaining factory farms, the fur trade, 'sport' hunting, animal abuse, animal experiments and meat eating will be part of that learning process for Raf (and No. 2) - as will be the people and organisations that pick up the pieces of these industries, and do their best in unrelenting circumstances such as Peace Ridge in Maine. We're hoping to take Raf to this sanctuary sometime soon and meet some animals that have survived the harsh realities of modern farming and/or individual abuse/neglect...plus Raf is also taken by the wild turkeys that pass through the yard on a daily basis with cries of 'the Turks!'

2 comments:

  1. It sounds as if he had a fab time! :)

    I had to decide how best to ensure my kids interacted and experienced animals without my own feelings clouding my judgement. I loathed zoos when I was younger and even now, I'm very edgy about them. My children know why I'm a vegetarian and they are all aware of animal abuse(Indeed, my eldest plans to dedicate his life to animal rescue, welfare and conservation).
    I didn't want them to miss out on seeing these beautiful animals close up and with no opportunity to go on a safari, I made the decision to visit zoos with them. We recently went to Longleat and despite a few reservations, I was impressed and wrote a little about it in a recent blogpost.

    I loathe circuses and always will, so there's no leeway on that one, but there are some great animal sanctuaries who do a good job.

    I'm sure you'll find an excellent balance for your boys. :)

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  2. Lovely post, Richard. Your boys will grow up to respect and love all of our fellow creatures, and that makes them very lucky indeed. I absolutely love the image of him doing a little dance surrounded by chickens!

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