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Saw a very interesting article talking about how "nudging" or offering reminders to people can actually help us become greener. Reminder stickers pasted above light switches remind you to turn off your lights. Footsteps painted on the ground towards a public garbage bin can remind you not to litter.
"The whole idea is that we don't force anyone to do anything ... it's about helping people make the right choices to reach their own objectives..."
This quote completely sums up my belief that some, not all of-course, some supposed animal abuse cases are just because people don't know any better, or they don't know any other way. Recently we helped a dog named Doo Doo who we saw near the SPCA office. Doo Doo is obviously an old dog but his fur had nearly all fallen out and he had a strong stench and seemed quite weak. We'd always see the owner walking him and the thought of "abuse" or "neglect" crossed our minds initially and is thus why we approached the owner to ask her about the condition of her dog. It turns out that the owner loves Doo Doo but she herself obviously lives very poorly and hasn't had much education in her life. She doesn't know what the proper way to care for a dog is and she is financially unable to take Doo Doo to the vet and thought that just by giving him rice and leftovers that Doo Doo's fur would grow back by itself.
What I'm trying to say is that in Taiwan, we really have to go BACK TO THE BASICS; even though the more affluent communities/people in major cities like Taipei and Taichung already have a good sense of animal welfare and basic standards of pet ownership, many local pet owners in rural areas or of the older generation still lack the basic knowledge of what proper animal care is. We need to focus on education of the young in order to create a brighter future for animals, but also we need to educate the mom and pop older generation as well in order to solve current issues of animal cruelty.
The problem is that once a pattern of behavior has formed, it's difficult to break, especially if the negative repercussions are not experienced immediately, says Professor Robert Cialdini, psychologist and author of "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion." "Our brains are designed to go into autopilot once we've established a routine that works for us. This is useful because it frees us up to think about things other than day-to-day tasks. But it's also unhelpful if the behavior has negative, albeit not immediately felt, consequences," he adds.
This is so true in that Doo Doo's owner was probably just used to feeding him rice, used to him having a strong stench, used to him sleeping on the hard floor, etc. which blinded her to any other possible alternatives for Doo Doo that may improve his physical welfare. Ofcourse her own environment and lack of financial ability has a lot to do with it as well, but it's more the reason why we need to help people like Doo Doo's owner and offer "nudges" in the community that remind and teach people the right way to care for your animal companion.
Gives me an idea....what about putting "nudges" on things we use and see every day that can remind us of humane treatment of animals? What about handing out free grocery bags to aunties and uncles at wet markets with a picture reminder of how much CO2 is emitted because of cattle farming (thus encouraging people to save farm animals, eat less meat, save the environment)? What about making wristbands, sportswear, socks, etc. that have logos reminding people that "dogs need exercise too"? What about just simple signs around the community or stickers people can post on the back of their scooters that have important messages such as "Dogs are pack animals, they need your company", "Dogs can get lost in traffic, microchip your dog"..etc.
I'm not very creative today, any other slogan or nudge ideas? ~ Annie
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