I have always been a pet person and an animal lover. I really do feel that there is a strong need for animal rights in Pakistan because our people really do deprive them of their basic necessities. Animals are treated with utmost cruelty and disrespect. We need strict law enforcement when it comes to animal rights.

They should be cared for and looked after properly. Once you own an animal it becomes your responsibility. Pets at times are even harder to look after than little children because they have no language to express their concerns. Those who treat animals in an inhumane way should really be taken to task.

Many argue that in Pakistan there are barely any human rights so why worry about animals? Well, for obvious reasons that they are living creatures too and a part of our environment makes their wellbeing and healthcare our responsibility. It’s not like anyone has said stop caring for human rights but there is and should be a strong emphasis on humane treatment of animals as well.

Where my opinion however differs is the way some of the foreign countries spend money on their pets. I recently moved to the United States of America and made a trip to one of the local pet stores in search of one. I was amazed to see the accessories and items they had on sale just for the pets there.

Back home in Pakistan, at the most they have vaccination, pet shampoos and a few toys for their pets and the upper class likes to get them groomed as well. The case here however was very different. Almost as if they spend more money on their pets than they do on themselves!

They have pet toys, clothing, accessories, furniture and a variety of baskets and food for them. They had grooming centers where pets get their manicures and pedicures, hair trimming and other such things which I would categorize as wasteful expenditure. Do they really need all these things?

People actually pay through their noses to provide them with these things. I thought to myself the amount wasted on buying these unnecessary items for pets in the US could actually feed families back in Pakistan who are poverty stricken.

It’s really sad… The Third World countries barely making any impression on an average American’s mind.

Do you feel that pet clothing and accessories is useful or wasteful spending? What do you feel about some of the people in foreign countries spending a fortune on their pets while in other parts of the world people don’t get food to eat?