For The Love Of Animals

While many of us humans love them, some don't

- Gina Hartoog

Our emotions surrounding animals start with our interactions with them during childhood, or the relationships or experiences we share in later years

When Elizabeth-Anne Bailey sees a movie in which a beloved animal dies, her heart breaks as she remembers her own pets who have passed on. “When a pet dies, it always feels as if a family member has passed away,” says Bailey. “I feel very emotional and overwhelmed with such a loss. Not having your best friend shadowing you or being together anymore is a great sadness that you can only understand if you have lost a pet.”

Bailey has very strong feelings towards animals and reacts with deep emotion if faced with a cruelty or abuse situation on social media. She says her four siblings all care very deeply about animals and suffer extreme grief at the loss of a pet.

Humanity, childhood experiences and culture In his book Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat, anthrozoologist Hal Herzog explores the paradox of the human-animal relationship. He asks a pertinent question: “Why is it so hard to think straight about animals?”

Why are some animals showered with love, others treated with disdain and others relegated to the dinner plate? Even those of us who love our pets deeply and provide them with the best care possible may dislike certain animals or have a deep-seated fear or phobia of them.

Kim Kidson, a clinical psychologist and chairlady of the Equine Assisted Psychotherapy Institute of South Africa (EAPISA), says although there are psychological reasons for how we respond to or perceive animals, a predominant reason is related to our upbringing and how animals were viewed in our childhood homes. This is behaviour we learned by observing our parents, family and friends in their interaction with animals. Some perceptions are also defined by culture or what is considered socially acceptable.