Lessons from a Donkey
At the beginning of 2018, I worked at a small farm in the Pyrenees Mountains in the south of France. For nearly a month I cohabited with a donkey, a pig, three horses, sheep, goats, geese, cats and chickens. While I went there to learn about farm life and organic goat cheese, I never imagined that Whiskey the Donkey would teach me much greater lessons.
I grew up in the small beach town of Ensenada, Mexico, which has a beautiful countryside. I definitely did not grow up in a farm, but I could be in one in just 15 min. My interaction with animals was limited to domesticated pets, the zoo, the occasional interaction with farm animals when we visited the countryside, and horses which I used to ride quite frequently. However, all the horses I engaged with while growing up were either being ridden, or locked up in their stables. This was normal. Animals always had their own little corral, pen, or shed, separate from other animals, where they could be kept under control.
It was not until I visited the farm in the Pyrenees last year that I witnessed what a free animal acts like. The farm was not just any farm, it was a family farm of 25 acres of open land where the animals could roam around freely and interact with one another. Apart from cats and dogs, I had never seen creatures of different species interact. When I say interact, I mean have bonds and friendships. Just like most people, I had grown up to believe that animals were just cute and furry creatures that eat, poop, reproduce, and die. It turns out, animals have feelings too.
Animal Bonds
One day, there was a heavy thunderstorm in the mountains. Once the storm stopped, I took a walk outside. The grass was wet and muddy. As I stood there contemplating the beautiful landscape, two horses were galloping at full force across the fields, one chasing the other to eventually reach him and bite him in the ass. Then the other horse would start chasing his friend back, and do the same thing. You could hear them making all kinds of noises, happy horse noises, which are apparently called a “neigh.” This went on for about 5 minutes non-stop. After this game of chase ended, they came closer to me where there was a big puddle of mud and they rolled around on their backs, getting their white fur completely muddy. I could not believe my eyes, their energy was contagious. They were like dogs. I had never seen a horse play, nor express such joy.
There were a few friendships in the farm that were particularly strong. The house dog and the pig had an undeniable bond. Whenever the dog would get a chance to escape to the side of the farm where the pig lived, he would run in circles around the pig sty, barking, wagging its tail and jumping of excitement. The pig would reciprocate by always coming out of his house to see his friend. The dog would not do this with any of the other animals.
Out of all the animals, I felt a special connection with Whisky the donkey. Mostly because he was so cute and had a very soft and sweet personality. Every day I would feed Whiskey at 7am. After eating, Whiskey would follow me around, tap me on the back or arm as if demanding for me to pet him.
Whiskey was one of the first animals to arrive at the farm years ago, with the horse Tequila. They had been from the same previous owner, so you can say they grew up together. One day, I thought Whiskey had taken off into the woods and I could not find him. I was looking for him everywhere and eventually saw him coming my way from far away. I started jogging towards him with the intention of guiding him back to the farm. Tequila, who perceived my running as an aggressive move I was making towards her friend, started charging my way, making angry sounds. I immediately understood that she thought I was attacking Whiskey, and she had come out to protects her little brother.
The Great Lesson
These few experiences exposed me to a side of animals I had never seen before, and worst yet, did not know existed. It somehow led me to humanize the animals, in the sense that I clearly perceived in them feelings and reactions that we tend to only attribute to humans (and regarding animals, strictly to dogs). Of course, we know that animals can be happy or sad, and that they experience fear and pain. But they are so much more than just happy, sad, or scared. They are curious, mischievous, guilty, emotional, playful, loyal, and so much more.
This experience has had a huge impact on how I perceive our relationship to other creatures, but it also made me see the enormous human detachment that exists with the animal kingdom. Remaining detached from understanding the depth of animal’s feelings and personalities facilitates the notion that animals are nothing more than less intelligent creatures, who due to evolution, deserve to be dominated by the stronger species. Maintaining this emotional distance is necessary to continue consuming animals, guiltlessly.
This emotional gap is augmented by the geographical distance between urban center and farms. In today’s increasingly urbanized world, we lose touch and access to interactions with other animal. Going to the zoo doesn’t count to fill this gap because it is filled with animals we don’t tend to use for food (in the west), and we cannot interact with the caged animals.
As urban centers continue to grow and people spend less and less time with other animal species, I fear that we will become more detached from the true essence of other species. I believe that as the dominating members of the animal kingdom, we have a moral obligation to learn about other species. Particularly when it comes to farm animals, (since we use them for food) the courageous thing to do would be to expose ourselves to the humbling experience of understanding that it is a living creature with the same feelings as a dog, and not just bacon.
All of this is to confront the truth. Whether one wants to eat meat or not is a personal choice, but hiding within the walls of the city in order not to ruin one’s appetite is the comfortable norm.
If you are a city dweller, I encourage you to close the computer and spend an extended period of time at a farm, I assure you the animals will teach you things google cannot – it is a beautiful experience.
Cookie
Mandy Allport
Lovely insight, I agree we can really learn a lot from animals!