This is not a Christmas Toy
By: Miguel Angel Rolland
Tags: Animals, Empathy, Christmas, Change, Advocacy

This is not a Christmas Toy

Another Holy Night might be another chapter of animal cruelty for millions of non humans who deserve more than a short, hard, disposable life as toys, or Instagram objects. Don’t buy, don’t even adopt, unless you’re ready to respect and love a life, more than your own. Miguel Angel Rolland Dec 24, 2020·4 min read

Still from the Spanish campaign “Su vida en tus manos” (A Life in Your Hands)

These days, a big part of the world will be celebrating Christmas and New Year. Unless you’re a dog or a cat, because this moment could be the beginning of a true nightmare. Hundreds of thousands of animals around the world, possibly millions, will be bought as a Christmas gift. And most of them will end dead or in the streets. Why do we continue accepting this?

2020 will not make it easier for these animals. It’s been a hard emotional year, and we haven’t reached the end of it -despite the arrival of the different vaccines-. Shaken by the ongoing economic crisis, restricted by the second and third wave of infections, our lives altered to almost every single detail, our emotions have unleashed a wild desire to consume, celebrate and close a forgetful year, one that has deepened the gap between the privileged countries -those who have already bought and almost sold out the first huge delivery of vaccines- and the not so rich parts of the globe. Money, once again, has made the world go ‘round.

But consumption needed to be protected at any cost, and saving the Christmas season became the most important task in every government, national or local. Get the people out, make them spend, be patriotic and help your country buying as much as you can, now that you can’t go away on holidays, be generous, buy gifts for everyone, don’t be a Scrooge and let the season spirit guide you. But the other patient human spirit was also waiting: Mr Greed. Not the best inspiration for the lowest features of the human heart.

Unbox your heart

Animals, mostly dogs and cats (but also rabbits, fish, lizards, snakes, tortoises, you name it!) will be bought again this desperate Christmas. Wrapped with red laces, inside surprise boxes, under the trees, under the stairs, delivered to your door. So many children around the world will be touched and filled with love unboxing the present; and lovers, mothers, fathers, grandparents, convalescent patients, anyone really because who can’t be touched by a beautiful puppy, a kitten, a tiny cute creature looking at you from inside the golden shiny box, with your name and the tag: “Merry Christmas”.

Unfortunately, this is not right. Unless the animal was truly adopted, supervised with consideration to the environment this being will have, and most importantly an exhaustive consideration of the caretaker’s profile, who will be assuming a huge responsibility: a non-human life. Nevertheless, the most dominant way for animals (so called pets) to arrive to our homes is uncontrolled, bought through breeders, smugglers, web sites or direct contact. A system that has created, still, in our emotional hard year of 2020, a worldwide population of mistreated animals, behind closed doors, abandoned only a few months after Christmas, or worse: killed.

I live and work in Spain, probably one of the cruelest countries in the world, with a passion for religious and folk events where animals will be tortured and killed (see my documentary Santa Fiesta for more detail). A lack of empathy that, obviously, contaminates the entire society at the bare essentials, such as our home animals, or family animals (as some of us like to call our dogs and cats). This doesn’t mean we don’t love or appreciate others, even humans. But clearly we’ve been unregulated for far too long. That’s why every year no less than 300 000 animals are abandoned, in the streets or roads of our cities. Does this issue connect itself with bullfighting? Of course it does! But it also shows how if you can enjoy two hours of a bull being speared alive, stats prove that you’ll end up hurting other animals, even defenseless birds.

A Life In Your Hands

Viral promo for the campaign A LIFE IN YOUR HANDS

Social change comes from patient, smart, dedicated continuous work. In a world where we’re still debating about the whales, contemplating the relentless extinction of majestic creatures like lions or rhinos, I’m not surprised that we can do our worst to the closest species in our lives. Cats and dogs can’t choose another environment, since they gave themselves up to our care and dependence long time ago. And they’ll not be released into a sanctuary, forest or mountain, because they are part of our raging fast society. We need to accept them, adopting them and protecting them in our most possible generous way. Not like seasonal toys, or accessories to our egos in our social media prisons.

So we must welcome and expand initiatives like the one I’m presenting to you, with the video above these lines. It was conceived by the Spanish actress and director Nuria Gago, with the title “Su vida en tus manos” (A Life In Your Hands). A follow up to the short fiction released last August with the same title (activate automatic English from the settings, if you can’t get the message so clearly spoken in images).

More and more people, every year, understand the importance of the DON’T BUY, ADOPT message. In my country, in your country, we can’t stop, or indulge, just because it’s been a tragic disastrous year for everyone. And we can say this to our friends, relatives and loved ones. There’s no excuse for this disgraceful commerce, the way there’s no excuse for any kind of cruelty to humans and no-humans. Toys ARE NOT THEM.

Hopefully, 2021, and the new decade will make us stronger in empathy.