This is an innovation. Statistics suggest that humans have destroyed more than 60% of animal habitats in less than 50 years. Yet, we, as 'animal lovers' continue to make them work for us. We use them in search operations, and police work, and keep them at our farms or homes for mere production and security purposes. Some of us even use them as food. Despite all this, they continue to stay loyal to us. They wag their tails and lick our hands to show affection.

Dolphins, dogs, birds, etc. are common pets and helping hands in various jobs. However, have you ever considered giving them real-time employment?

What if animals could be employed like humans? Animal therapy is a common method to revive patients from depression and other mental traumas. They act as Psychologists. They motivate patients to have an early recovery. The most common among these is Dog therapy. The reason behind this is simple, people find confiding in dogs much more easy than in any other animal. Dogs have the maximum paparazzi, so much so that the phrase "dog lovers" is as common as the word “food”. Just like employees get training after and before being staffed, dogs also get trained before being put on duty. The most common breeds under this are Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Shitzus, etc. Horses are believed to be the most intelligent animals among the lot, even more so than dogs. Because of this high brain activity, they are the second most common animals used in animal therapy. A lifetime example of this is as follows: In the palliative care center at Calais Hospital in northern France, Marion is a metastatic cancer patient. She cuddles her seven-year-old son, Ethan, as Peyo, the horse, nuzzle them both. His trainer, Hassen Bouchakour says ‘With Peyo, we try to recreate life at the end of life, to fight and create energy to accompany families and caregivers. Peyo and Bouchakour work with Les Sabots du Coeur, an organization devoted to therapy, and with scientists who are studying Peyo’s ability to reduce patients’ anxiety and comfort people in pain. At the hospital, Peyo tells his trainer which room he wants to enter next by stopping or raising his leg. Peyo is 15 years old and seems to be able to detect when humans have cancers and tumours. 'I accompany him but I let him do what he wants, he’s the one who decides', says Bouchakour. ‘What pushed scientists to take an interest in him and open the health establishment doors to us, was this ability to greatly reduce the patients’ dosage of all hard drugs and thus allow a more peaceful departure,’ he says. Peyo’s nickname given by the medical team name is Doctor Peyo. In Calais Hospital, Marion pats Peyo while the medical team helps her with her pain relief for metastatic cancer. Peyo and Bouchakour are her allies, she says, and they come to see her almost every day. ‘Hassen and Peyo are part of the team, they are not only good for the patients but for us too. When it is hard, we are happy to know they are here,’ says Anne Sophie, a nurse at the palliative care center. Since 2016, we have supported around 1,000 people until their last breath in the various services in which we operate. Peyo is my other half, he is my life partner, he is everything to me,’ says Bouchakour. There are several other instances where Peyo is known to help people get through the hard times.

Humans are known to be close associates of monkeys and apes. Thus these creatures are also known to help the needy. An experiment is being conducted. People with disabilities, whether they are bedridden, blind, or have impaired limbs, are being helped by monkeys. They help them fetch water and food, make their beds, remind them to take their medicines, etc. This method of caretaking is especially beneficial for patients with memory problems. Animals have a strong sense of direction, if by chance the patient gets lost in close vicinity, the animals can help him get back home safely. Today, it has become nearly impossible to trust unknown people to take care of the elderly. Thus, animals are a good substitute for this.

In several countries, animals are recognized as citizens. Ecuador, South America, has become the first country to give legal rights to individual wild animals. The ruling arose from the sad case of a woolly monkey named Estrellita. After being illegally taken from the wild, Estrellita came to live with librarian Ana Beatriz Burbano Proaño and her family at just one-month-old, where she lived for the next 18 years. During this, she learned to communicate with them through gestures and sounds and acquired the family customs. Estrellita was then seized by local authorities and suffered a sudden cardio-respiratory arrest within a month of being relocated to a zoo, where she passed away. Before hearing of her death, Burbano filed a case to get Estrellita back, citing the distress Estrellita was likely experiencing, having been so abruptly disconnected from everything familiar to her. The case relied on scientific evidence of the cognitive and social complexity of woolly monkeys. To argue, Estrellita should at minimum possess the right to borderly liberty. The environmental authority should have protected Estrellita's rights by examining her specific circumstances before placing her in the zoo. The court ruled that both the Authorities and Burbano violated Estrellita's rights, the former for failing to consider her specific needs before relocating her and the latter for removing her from the wild in the first place.

Even the stock market, which has worldwide recognition and is used by several customers runs with the help of animal symbols. A bull is the most prominent and positive animal in the stock market. A bear market is the exact opposite of a bull market. Rabbits are traders who buy stocks and keep their position for a short period. Turtles are investors who like to stay invested for long periods. A pig is an investor who is greedy and emotional. A stag is a short-term investor – like an intraday investor – who tries to make money through quick and short-term investments. A whale is an investor, often anonymous, who places an unusually large order in the stock market. Even here, a part of the brokerage could go towards taking care of these animals. This structure would add to an unusual way of compulsorily contributing to animal wellness.

The question now is, How do we pay these animals?

Large companies and businesses often put in charity in the name of animal shelters. The government takes several initiatives for these animals. However, if we pay wages in kind to these animals in exchange for what they do for us, it would be something that they earn for themselves. They will no longer be a charity case. They would be our wage employees. Wages in kind would mean providing proper shelters for the working animals and their significant others, not invading their natural habitats, funding the opening of new and existing shelters, providing them food, etc.

I feel that this method of employment is a special one. We have been taking so much from these animals and giving back to them. Making this system would enable us not to take undue advantage of them. Our modern world sees everything as a give and take. Maybe this system would entail us to limit ourselves from taking from them. There will be defined boundaries of exchange. And who knows ,this might improve our environmental animal-related issues. But after all, its just a theory waiting for an implementation.

Reference:

• Ecuador became 1st country to give legal rights to wild animals - Current Affairs
• Ecuador becomes the first country to give legal rights to wild animals - Firstpost

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