22

Jul

Skydiving Dogs? What Next, Flying Pigs?!

When I first read about this, I thought it was a joke. Skydiving dogs? Sounds a bit like flying pigs – pull the other one! But no, sadly the army really do have plans to force German Shepherds – who love to sit adoringly by your feet, catch Frisbees and get their tummies tickled – to skydive out of planes 25,000 feet up in the air. They will touch down in war-torn countries like Iraq and Afghanistan and beam back live video footage of ‘hideouts’ to troops safely out of danger.

Or at least that’s the idea. PETA sent Defence Minister Des Browne an urgent letter calling on him to drop the plans and opt for robots instead. Here are the most important (and disturbing) bits:

“Osama bin Laden sacrificed dogs for his purposes, but we never thought we would be writing to our own Minister about Britain’s use of dogs. Your plan will cause many dogs to suffer horribly, since they are likely to be tortured to “send a message” to animal-loving Britons rather than simply killed. If our adversaries can treat humans so abominably, imagine what they will do to dogs.

It is, of course, not just these animals who will suffer as a result of this wrong-headed plan. Although one report indicates that dogs are being used because dogs are “less suspicious approaching targets”, when some dogs become enemies, our adversaries will see all dogs as enemies. Your plan will surely result in the suffering of exponentially more dogs than you plan to use, as people in countries we are in conflict with will come to see every dog as a possible member of a foreign military.

It is inherently wrong to use dogs as disposable living tools in such missions. Animals claim no nation. They are in perpetual involuntary servitude to all of humankind, and although they pose no threat and own no weapons, human beings always win in the undeclared war against them. They are made of flesh, blood and bones, just as we are, and they share the same five physiological senses we have. They feel pain as acutely as we do, and they are highly intelligent and social beings with families. Dogs deserve better than this, and so does the British public. This is the 21st century – the era of robotics. If you can use drones in the air, you can use them on land.”


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posted by Niranjan on July 22nd, 2008 at 9:48 am

Shame, how can the British Army do such things. I didn’t expect this from an animal loving nation. These poor GSDs going to suffer due to the war & might end up injured or tortured to death by the militants. And of course the British army is NOT going to come to the dogs’ rescue, will they?

Dear PETA UK, we need an action alert on this issue! We definitely need to STOP this. I don’t want these dogs to die in war . . .

posted by isabella on July 22nd, 2008 at 7:30 pm

what a disgusting idea. Why doesn’t Mr Browne try jumping off himself?

posted by Luke on July 23rd, 2008 at 12:29 am

So you’d rather have human’s die collecting information?

This suggests a deep moral perversion. Valuing animals as humans and crediting them with the same level of awareness.

“German Shepherds – who love to sit adoringly by your feet, catch Frisbees and get their tummies tickled.”- I assume this must mean, that the dog’s in question are pet’s. Which from my own interpretation goes against PETA’s aim of ‘Total Animal Liberation’. This suggests a certain level of hypocrisy within the organisation.

As for the point about militants viewing dogs, as potential military targets and will therefore start slaughtering them….. surely the militants will only go for the dog’s with camera’s on their heads?

Also, there are many differences between humans and dogs. Primarily, the ability to reason and create. Dog’s are pack animals, which wouldn’t exist without human intervention and domestication. And to compare the species as being similar is a rather inane form of anthropomorphism.

Take care,
L.A.F

posted by Susan Trear on July 28th, 2008 at 9:32 pm

Luke - you are way off base; wrong-headed thinking. Dogs, like us, and like all animals, are living beings. We are not trying to say they are equal in “life value”; just that no living creature who canNOT think and reason for itself should be used in such a way as to cause it such potential pain, fear, suffering and injury for a frankly nebulous cause [”informatino gathering”]. The military has no idea what it is doing in the Middle East, and is trying to look like it is doing something to “save the troops.” They might start with good armor and equipment. Many innocent people have died while U.S. and British troops were “information gathering,” (read, torturing)and when you learn to think critically, and to use apostrophes correctly, you may develop some credence. [”Dog’s are pack animals…”]????? Back to the books, Luke.

posted by Flávia on July 30th, 2008 at 1:19 pm

“So you’d rather have human’s die collecting information?”

Whon started this war in the first place? Why dogs have to suffer in the name of it?
This is a disgusting idea!
I hope Defence Minister Des Browne think this over, and realize how stupid this idea is.

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