We gather from _The Daily Sketch_ that a reverend gentleman at Herne Bay
has just founded the S. P. M. C. A., or "Society for the Prevention of
Mental Cruelty to Animals," and holds, as part of his propaganda, that
the Zoo should be disbanded and abolished, and, in fact, that no wild
animals or birds should be kept anywhere in captivity at all.
The S. P. M. C. A. fills a long-felt want. Everyone with any sense of
politeness or tact must recognise that it is grossly improper to wound
the feelings of the lower orders of creation by the opprobrious use of
such epithets as ass, donkey, cat, mule, pig, goose, monkey, and so on.
Picture the mental torture and degradation undergone by the
self-respecting rodent who overhears the contemptuous exclamation,
"Rats!" Realise, if you can, the stigma attached to the hard-working
order of garden annelids when, possibly in their very presence, one
human being addresses another as a "worm"!
Then, again, take the deplorable breaches of etiquette on the part of
visitors at the Zoo. We ourselves have heard the most uncomplimentary
allusions made to the appearance of the baboons and the hippopotamus, in
the hearing of those unfortunate creatures, and quite regardless of
their _amour propre_. The callous Cockney takes care to insult his
helpless victims only when they are behind bars and cannot retaliate
effectively. One shudders to think of the mental humiliation that is
daily experienced by the warthog and the mandrill. And even the nobler
animals--the lions and bears--are not allowed to escape without
prejudicial comment, especially at feeding-time. Not the slightest
deference is paid to the private opinions and sentiments of these
carnivores by the vulgar crowd of sight-seers. The parrots alone can
ease their harassed souls and have the last word with the passer-by.
Meanwhile, we have to apologise to our cat for having recently upbraided
him rather too freely for his nocturnal habits and general lack of
discipline, not having considered the shock of such language to his
sensitive mind.