TRIALS OF AN ANIMAL LOVER

New Zealand Listener, Volume 1, Issue 7, 11 August 1939, Page 11

TRIALS OF AN ANIMAL LOVER

By

Mary

Scott

the country." I am sure you have heard that remark, and, if you are a townswoman, if you find it a problem to get enough exercise for Fido and are always afraid that your cat will be run over, then you sigh and say, "I only wish that I did!" Well, you would be wrong. Really to enjoy animals you should lead a Nomad life-reside in town, or on its outskirts, in winter, and in the backblocks in summer; then your pets would be able to enjoy~ the best of both worlds. More important still, you would not have to stand by, able to do nothing, and watch the suffering of the beast creation in midwinter. sa you really love animals you should live in Suffering Inevitable For suffering is inevitable to farm animals, farm you never so wisely or so humanely. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the high country, on the bleak hillsides where feed is so plentiful all summer and animals so sleek and contented, but where it vanishes, as though from the touch of a bad fairy’s wand, as soon as the frost and hail of winter have laid their scourge upon the land. It is like a miracle, this change-over of the seasons; an evil miracle in autumn which one could ill endure but for its converse in spring-the transformation that will surely come if you, and the animals, will endure till the end. Hunger Tames For it is a question of endurance, little else. I am writing at the end of four days of south-westerly gale; each day has seen its quota of hailstorms, its bitter sleet and terrific thunder; it may end with a light fall of snow or with another mantle of hail over the face of the earth. Through this the animals have suffered cruelly, They stand with backs hunched and tails tucked in round the haystack, awaiting their morning ration, too hungry even to seek shelter until the worst is past; horses and cattle jostle each other round the trough; steers that were wild and lawless two months ago will let you put a hand upon them as you pass. They look to you as their mainstay

and watch each morning until you come to uncover the haystack. When spring is upon the land they will repay your good offices by hunting you round the paddock. But you will not mind. You will come back into the house, flustered and dishevelled, and say, " The worst is really over, the animals are brightening up"; then, looking round uneasily, afraid that someone may have seen that spring of yours to the fence, you will add casually, " The cattle were really quite playful this morning." Gratitude may endure in the heart of a quiet beast; it most certainly lives long in that of a horse, but the wild run steers merely suffered your attentions through dire necessity. They were not for one moment your friends; they will never be your vassals.

In this particular weather the horses and cattle are the worst victims, Sheep suffer less, particularly in the bush country where logs and stumps provide shelter and where steep gullies are hidden from even the wildest wind. They are no great anxiety-until lambing comes; and alas! the early lambs are already with us. Very much so; one sleeps upon the hearth as I write. Need I say that it is Vera’s-that ancient ewe that was once in her comparatively innocent youth a pet of pets? Hurt though one may feel at the ingratitude of the cattle, one is yet thankful that they do not cling to their rescuers with the abominable fidelity of Vera. One out-size ewe (complete with tail because the children said, "But you couldn’t possibly dream of docking Vera!’’) hovering perpetually in your train is trying enough. Imagination recoils at the thought of being followed, however lovingly, by a small herd of Hereford cattle. Vera Wins And poor Vera is so maternal, so honestly anxious to please by producing the first lamb of the season! She achieved her ambition this year, in the midst

of a terrific gale. We found her next morning standing at the back gate, her honest face positively furrowed by anxiety, sheltering two lambs so small that one was inevitably reminded of the fable of the mountain and the mouse. The smaller mouse was moribund; Vera impressed this upon us as soon as we opened the gate. Stamping vigorously, like one of these highly educated circus horses, she said that it must be taken at once to the kitchen fire. There it lies, snugly tucked into a box, and already taking an interest in a harsh world. It is an engaging little creature and we have called it Annabella. Although at the moment it is not glamourous, there is a width between the eyes that is promising; the shape of the face, too, is reminiscent, and something in the lower notes of the voice. ... At the back door hovers Vera, the hardier lamb in tow; he is capaciously sheltered by her buxom and maternal frame, and is a nuggety little person. We have called him King Kong Cox and can only hope for the best. But Vera is happy; in fact, she is almost smiling, for she feels that she has done well. To her the credit of producing twins, to me the burden of having one thrust upon me. Still she retains her hold even upon Annabella. At intervals, when she imagines that the Plunket times are not being observed, she butts upon the back door and I bear out the lamb and allow her to feed it. Meantime she has achieved her life-time’s ambition and become, if not exactly a house-sheep, at least a backyard one. No Place for the Frail and Foolish It is a pity that one’s house is not as large as one’s heart. There are so many faithful friends to whom one would like to give harbourage. In fact, the heaven dreamed of by at least one farmer's wife is capacious indeed, large enough to contain all the suffering creatures who are out in the storm to-day. But, until the Elysium is attained, those who really love animals -love them uncomfortably, so that they waken in the middle of a night’s storm and are miserable, so that they have to turn their eyes and their thoughts from hunger and bitter cold-these frail and foolish creatures had certainly better remain in town. In short, if you really care about animals-not just your own pets but the beasts of the field, of hill and of valley-you had much better not live in the backe blocks-at least, not in winter,