Animal shows. Who's having fun?

In retrospect, how did this context look?

Today I remember it with regret! When I was a child and teenager, back in the 1950s and a few more years ahead, one of the usual amusements was to go to the circuses when they came to town, and one of the attractions was represented by those animals that were not part of our daily lives.

So, between the performances, huge elephants balanced on tiny stools, big cats like tigers and lions jumped through flaming hoops, and chimpanzees, wearing human clothes and props, rode bicycles and did all sorts of pirouettes. Still in the naivety of immature apprentices in the school of life, it all seemed like so much fun, but with maturity and the critical sense that is gained step by step, you realize that going to the circus can still be enjoyable, to admire the incredible acrobatics of the gymnasts, but without the participation of animals!^[1]

In fact, it wouldn't be any fun to go there to watch our brothers and sisters suffer, children of the same Father who created us, and we can also say this about any other entertainment show that mistreats animals, such as rodeos, vaqueros, horse and dog races, sport hunting and shows with marine animals.

[1] Extraordinary work has been carried out here in Brazil by the National Forum for Animal Protection and Defense, under the chairmanship of biologist Sônia Fonseca, in various sectors of human activity involving animals. With regard to circuses, the Forum has already obtained a court ban on the presence of animals in 12 states (AL, ES, GO, MS, MG, PB, PR, PE, RJ, RS, SC and SP), as well as several municipalities, which, fortunately, is making the circuses themselves aware of the need to abandon the old practice.

To feel and to think... To change, you have to!

There are two channels for working in this context: the sensitive and intelligible, According to the great spiritist philosopher Herculano Pires in chapter 3 of his book The mystery of being in the face of pain and death.

Particularly for “feel”, there is no way to empathize with these events, which impose suffering on animals; and, in our rational understanding, the intelligible, This, too, is unacceptable, given the vast amount of information we now have on the subject, both in spiritist literature and in academic science.

The spiritist view of animals

The Spiritist Doctrine, pioneering, enlightens us about the true nature of animals, as the following are brief examples of some quotes.

The Spirits' Book (1860):

• “Animals have [are] spirits and are intelligent” (597).
• “[they] reincarnate and evolve” (599 and 601).
• “Intelligence is an essential attribute of the Spirit” (24).
• “The intelligence of man and that of animals emanate from a single principle” (606a).
• “So there are two general elements of the universe: matter and spirit? Yes, and above both God, the Creator, the father of all things” (27).
• “What should we think of destruction when it goes beyond the limits set by needs and security? Hunting, for example, when it is only for the pleasure of destroying without utility? Predominance of bestiality over spiritual nature [...] a violation of God's law. Animals do not destroy more than they need, but man, who has free will, destroys without need. He will be held accountable for the abuse of the freedom granted to him, because in such cases he gives in to evil instincts” (735).
• “To believe that God could have done anything without purpose and created intelligent beings [animals] without a future would be to blaspheme his goodness, which is established over all his creatures” (607a).

Genesis (1868):

• “Animals act by instinct and also by intelligence” (III. 11 to 13).
• “Monkey bodies would have been very suitable to serve as clothing for the first human spirits, necessarily not very advanced, who came to incarnate on Earth [...] probably differing little from the monkey in their external form, and also in their intelligence” (XI. 15 and 16).

Mechanisms of mediumship (1959)

• “Animals think in fragmentary waves”.

In the bigger world (1947)

• “The brain is the sacred organ of manifestation of the mind, in transit from primitive animality to human spirituality.”.
• “The chrysalis of consciousness, which resides in the crystal rolling in the current of the river, is there in the process of liberation.”.

Spiritist and academic literature on converging lines

Academic literature, particularly since the 1960s, has been confirming the information we've just analyzed in spiritist literature, with the exception of that referring to the Spirit. Scientists now refer to animals as “sentient beings”, that is, they recognize that they have sensitivity, intelligence and memory, as well as the capacity for physical and mental suffering.

An important contribution to this knowledge was made by the American biologist Gregory Bateson (1979), who re-signified the concept of mind in the academic context, defining it as the “cognitive process of manifestation of life”. He argues that every living being “knows” how to survive, feed itself, reproduce the species and flee from aversive agents, so each person's “knowledge” will correspond to their mind, more or less expanded, according to their evolutionary stage at the time.

Many important publications subsequently appeared with reference to the mental attributes of animals, such as The dragons of Eden, by Carl Sagan (1977), Animal Minds, by Donald Griffin (1994); The emotional life of animals, by Masson and McCarthy (1997); The next of kin, by Roger Fouts (1998); The Prehistory of the Mind, by Steven Mithen (1999); and Dogs know when their owners are coming home, by Rupert Sheldrake (1999).

In 2012, a significant document appeared, the Cambridge Declaration, The article, signed by twenty-six neuroscientists led by Dr. Philip Low, from Stanford University, USA, states that mammals, birds and even some invertebrates, such as octopuses, have consciousness, justifying that the same structures that are activated in the human brain to manifest this faculty also exist in these animals.

More recently, research into the functioning of the animal brain, with regard to its role in interaction with the mind, has been carried out using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), such as that by Andics et al. (2014), who studied the marking of brain areas in dogs when they heard different types of sounds, including the affectionate voice of their guardian. They concluded that “the areas of perception and processing of the voice also exist in dogs, with a functional pattern similar to that shown by humans, data that elucidate how they can tune in to the feelings of their caregivers.” This is in line with Calderaro's statement about the role of the “brain as the organ of manifestation of the mind, in transit from primitive animality to human spirituality” (Luiz, 1947, chapter 3).

From information to reflection: humans and animals on opposite sides?

This information that we have seen, contained both in works of the Spiritist Doctrine and in academic literature, leads us to realize that, evolutionarily, there is no real separation between human beings and other animals, because the essence of all is the same, which is the spiritual principle, which, in the human phase, is conventionally called Spirit (The Spirits' Book, 606a).

Faced with the argument that, in order to reach this human stage, the intelligent principle has undergone a transformation, it must be considered that this did not happen suddenly, but through a process that lasted a long time, no less than a million years. According to anthropological data (Neves, 2020), the Australopithecus (austral = south, pithecus = monkey) lived 3.2 million years ago, and of the various species of the human genus that emerged from this trunk, the first that can truly be considered “human”, the Homo eretus, He would have lived around 1.8 million years ago.

Why does subjugation and exploitation still exist?

The knowledge presented opens our horizons to understand that there is no reasonable reason for this model of subjugation and exploitation to which human beings still subject animals, a situation that is morally aggravated when it comes to having fun at the cost of their suffering. In Genesis, In chapter 3, we find an explanation for this behavior: “[...The source of the propensity for evil begins with the instinct for self-preservation, when the counterbalance of moral sense does not yet exist (in primitive beings). Evil is relative and responsibility is proportional to the progress made”.^[2]

The meaning of moral sense can be found in The Spirits' Book, Kardec asked the benefactor Spirits: “What definition can be given to morality? Morality is the rule of good conduct and therefore of the distinction between good and evil [...]. Man conducts himself well when he does everything with the good in mind and for the good of all, because then he observes God's law.”.

The explanation that morality, which contemplates our choices, lies in “doing good and for the good of all” is wonderful.

Does everyone have a good time at animal shows?

It's clear that the animals don't enjoy themselves; on the contrary, they suffer, which characterizes the event as inappropriate. In an attempt to particularly sensitize fellow veterinarians to the evidence that animals suffer both physically and mentally when they take part in these events, in 2002 I published an article with collaborators (Prada et al., 2002), referring to situations with and without injuries to the animals, because even in the absence of injuries, they may suffer mentally, as in the case of feeling subjugated and forced into situations that are alien to their species' repertoire of behaviors.

By way of example, bulls, horses and mares that take part in riding events at rodeos already enter the track displaying exaggerated jumping, body twisting and humping, behavior that is never seen when they are grazing calmly in natural conditions. In addition, in partnership with a colleague, technical opinions have been issued^[3] regarding rodeo and vaquejada events, which are forwarded to the legal sectors as part of requests from the National Forum for Animal Protection and Defense for the benefit of animals.

[2] To understand the development of the moral sense, from the earliest stages of humanity, see: Evolution in two worlds (LUIZ, 1958). [3] See the Technical Opinions of the medical veterinarians Irvênia Prada and Vania Plaza Nunes: https://www.facebook.com/104809987567496/photos/a.231144624934031/399395341442291/

New proposal for route correction

In the book Spiritist conduct (Luiz, 1960a, ch. 33), we find a wise lesson which, in summary, is presented as follows on the subject in question:

Abstain from chasing and imprisoning, mistreating or sacrificing domestic or wild animals, birds and fish for entertainment purposes [...]. There are amusements that are real crimes in disguise [...]. Avoid any tyranny over animal life [...]. Oppose overworking animals [...]. When helping sick animals, use all possible therapeutic resources, without neglecting even those of a mediumistic nature that you apply in your own favor. The light of good must shine on all levels. Support animal protection movements and organizations as much as possible, through acts of Christian generosity and human understanding. The beings at the back of evolution align themselves with us in a position of need before the law. “Let all your things be done with charity” [...].

Our attitude is one of gratitude for the many teachings that luminous Spirits, both in the spiritist sphere and in academic science, have brought us about what we are and what other animals are, at the cost of which we have come to understand that “we do not own the world, we just belong to it!” (Capra; Steindl-Rast; Matus, 1991), and that it is our responsibility to always “choose the good, and for the good of all”(The Spirits' Book, question no. 629).

References

ANDICS, Atilla et al. Voice-sensitive regions in the dog and human brain are revealed by comparative fMRI. Current Biology, v. 24, n. 5, p. 574-578, 2014. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.01.058.

BATESON, Gregory. Mind and Nature. A Necessary Unity. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1979.

CAPRA, Fritjof; Steindl-RAST, David; MATUS, Thomas. Belonging to the universe: explorations on the frontiers of science and spirituality. São Paulo: Cultrix, 1991.

KARDEC, Allan. Genesis: miracles and predictions according to Spiritism. Araras, SP: IDE, 1995.

______. The Spirits' Book. Araras, SP: IDE, 1994.

LUIZ, André (Spirit). Spiritist conduct. Psychographed by Waldo Vieira. Rio de Janeiro: FEB, 1960a.

______. Mechanisms of mediumship. Psychographed by Francisco Cândido Xavier and Waldo Vieira. Rio de Janeiro: FEB, 1960b. (Collection Life in the Spiritual World, 11).

______. Evolution in two worlds. Psychographed by Francisco Cândido Xavier and Waldo Vieira. Rio de Janeiro: FEB, 1958 (Collection Life in the Spiritual World, 10).

______. In the bigger world. Psychographed by Francisco Cândido Xavier. Rio de Janeiro: FEB, 1947 (Collection Life in the Spiritual World, 5).

NEVES, Walter. The saga of humanity. USP Channel, 2020. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAudUnJeNg4sUpVQaygeymsa8fVsZjkCb. Accessed on: October 20, 2022.

PIRES, J. Herculano. The mystery of being in the face of pain and death. São Paulo: Paideia, 1981.

PRADA, Irvênia L. S. et al. Methodological and neurofunctional bases for assessing the occurrence of pain/suffering in animals. Journal of Continuing Education, v. 5, fasc. I, p. 1-13, 2002. Doi: https://doi.org/10.36440/recmvz.v5i1.3278.