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Apr 20, 2004 I cry for the ever-vanishing countryside I enjoyed so much in my youth. I cry for America’s abandoned pets. I cry for the thousands of innocent wild creatures we displace and destroy each and every day in our never- ending lust for urban expansion. I cry for our mistakes, and for our greed, and for our stupidity. I cry because we have somehow lost our way. As a child, my love of nature, animals, and the great outdoors increased with each and every passing year – in the very heart of one of America’s biggest cities. And if I wanted to see more of nature’s splendor, all I had to do was hop on a commuter train or bus and ride it to the city limits. There, I would scamper off and immediately stand in awe of gigantic green forests filled with frolicking wild creatures, peaceful meadows, and serene rivers, ponds, and creeks. Beyond the forest, as far as my eyes could see, small family farms, rustic fruit stands, livery stables, natural prairies, and wondrous wetlands dotted the landscape. And, they all flourished. I rode horses, went exploring in the vast prairies and wetlands, watched the dairy cows grazing in the lush green fields, bought delicious, freshly ripened fruit, and fished to my heart’s content – all right outside the city limits of one of America’s largest cities. Today, as I journey here and there to favorite childhood haunts– my heart breaks. I cannot believe my eyes. I cannot believe what has happened to my homeland. I cannot believe our stupidity or our greed. The once proud family wheat farm is now a huge corporate subdivision with a thousand prefabricated houses that all look exactly alike. The rustic old horse ranch is now an abysmal strip mall, overflowing with junky shops and tasteless fast food chains. The good old fishing hole has been filled in and paved over to make way for a super king-sized corporate department, grocery, and quick change motor oil store. The quaint old pumpkin patch is now covered over in concrete. It has now sadly been transformed into a bustling, 24-hour, drive- thru, corporate pharmacy and mini-mart, specifically designed for the extremely busy person who is too busy to even get out of his/her car. Not that long ago, the great green areas surrounding our big cities were teeming with fascinating nonhuman creatures such as white- tailed deer, opossums, raccoons, rabbits, skunks, woodchucks, beavers, barn owls, hawks, ducks, geese, foxes, and coyotes. We had our cities; they had their countryside. It was a very nice balance of nature, and we usually left each other alone. When I was a child traveling on the highways and byways surrounding our big cities, I often counted cows, horses, and wild creatures to pass the time. Children riding in areas encircling our cities today often count animal ‘road kill.’ Thousands of feral felines are now routinely rounded up and summarily destroyed in cities, suburbs, government facilities, and military installations all across this nation. And sadly, the majority of these innocent creatures are the woefully neglected and rejected offspring of someone’s discarded, unwanted, and un-neutered pet. Thousands of affectionate, frightened, abandoned canines languish in city pounds and animal shelters all across America, while puppy mills continue to mass-produce pedigreed dogs to sell to the wholesale dog industry, which includes both pet stores and research facilities. Many of these puppy mills house both their ‘breeder bitches’ and their highly priced offspring in squalid, cramped conditions, often in their own feces. And sadly, many of these dogs will also end up in pounds and shelters after they outlive their show, hunt, and research usefulness. Thousands of young Rottweiler, Doberman, and Bull Terrier pups are viciously beaten, tortured, and starved by their savage human owners who want them to guard their illicit guns and drugs or to participate in mortal combats for cash. These innocent creatures are not born vicious; vicious human beings make them so. The reputation of these canine breeds is so horrendous today that many municipalities now want to ban them as pets; many animal shelters refuse to adopt them out; many insurance companies refuse to insure their owners; and many police officers, in true fear for their lives, shoot them on sight. If our once beloved pets are now being so callously abandoned, abused, tortured, vilified, and killed in America today, what chance will our wild animal neighbors have? I wonder. A terrified starving coyote was recently found cowering under the wheels of a taxicab in the very heart of downtown Chicago. Numerous suburban municipalities now hold sanctioned deer kills to rid themselves of these peaceful woodland creatures that were once considered majestic; and are now deemed to be pests. Bird lovers across America are now routinely fined for feeding pigeons in the park. Many cities, towns, and suburban subdivisions across this land are now banning birdfeeders. An alligator recently wandered into a suburban Texas subdivision built on swampland, this creature’s natural habitat. It was savagely tied by its neck to the back of a pickup truck, dragged through the suburban streets in front of dozens of resident children, and eventually shot dead. When captured, this alligator had not approached, threatened, or harmed anyone. Waterfowl, by nature, are attracted to water. Yet, when artificial, aesthetically pleasing ponds and drainage ditches are constructed at suburban office complexes and subdivisions all across this country today, hundreds of complaints are soon registered concerning the inevitable arrival of messy, noisy, ducks and geese. Numerous corporations hire contractors to destroy the eggs or disrupt the nests of these innocent wild creatures. In a hilly suburban area in Colorado, an entire colony of prairie dogs was recently destroyed as their homes were flattened and paved over for a new parking lot. Dozens of burrows were scraped flat, crushing to death or burying alive the numerous animals trapped below. Numerous human volunteers had been willing to live-trap and relocate these harmless creatures. Their humane efforts were declined. If we are no longer even willing to share our suburban land and water with our earthly nonhuman neighbors, perhaps we should no longer build suburbs in swamps, wetlands, and forests, or construct wildlife attracting suburban ponds. Perhaps we should stop callously invading and destroying their natural habitats in the first place. Does anyone in our ever-expanding urban American environment today even remember that these nonhuman neighbors of ours were here first? Does anyone even care anymore? Are these really the new legacies and traditions we wish to pass down to our future offspring regarding the status of animals on this planet? I sincerely hope not. Must we humans be so arrogant? Must we humans be so gluttonous? Must we humans be so blind? Must we destroy every blade of prairie grass, every isolated wetland, every stand of white pine, every clump of naturally occurring dirt, and every chipmunk, sparrow, and spider that stands in the way of ‘progress?’ I sincerely hope not. Must the docile deer soon walk the path of the butchered buffalo? For the sake of future generations of both animals and kindred Nature lovers, I sincerely hope not. Today, on a daily basis, we callously chase off, dig out, bury, poison, snare, shoot, maim, and run over our nonhuman neighbors. We bulldoze, uproot, scatter, and kill thousands of them each and every day. Our gluttonous penchant for urban sprawl has left these innocent victims with little or no refuge. They are simply in the way of our never-ending thirst and lust to expand our already gigantic concrete world. Sadly, the future appears bleak. Sprawling land development is gobbling up the American countryside at an alarming rate of 365 acres per hour according to U.S. Government statistics. Soon, our nonhuman earthly neighbors will have nowhere left to run. Someday soon, our future offspring may have to visit a zoo just to see what a raccoon looks like. Today, I drive, and I walk, and I look, and I stare, and I shake my head in disgust, in disbelief, and in shame. Then I cry. I cry because we have somehow lost our way. ------------ About the author: Ed Kostro is a published freelance writer with a passion for nature, animal, history, humor, Native American, and science fiction pieces. He's a member of The Society of Southwestern Authors and The Cat Writers' Association. He's also an animal rights activist, animal shelter volunteer, and proud member of The Humane Society, The Assisi Foundation, The Best Friends Animal Network, and Alley Cat Allies. "I Cry" is an excerpt from his recently published nonfiction memoir, Curious Creatures - Wondrous Waifs, My Life with Animals, depicting his 50- year love affair with all non-human creatures - great and small. Links for ordering this book can be found at Ed’s writing website. He can be contacted via e-mail at: edkostro@comcast.net Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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