A. Prepare a talk, giving your own views on any one of these topics which you feel strongly about. Find some facts to support your idea.

For example:

Today ecologists talk much about the protection of fluffy cute animals such as pandas, paying inadequately scant attention to creepy-crawlies that play a vital role in the food chain…

· The destruction of rainforests

· The role of creepy-crawlies

· Using animals in laboratories for testing cosmetics

· Shooting animals for 'sport'

· Keeping wild animals in captivity

· Keeping large, fierce dogs as 'pets'

· Training animals to perform in circuses

· Eating meat

· …(your own choice)

B. ‘ Bird brain’ sounds offensive? Think again.

The mode of consciousness of nonhuman species is quite different from human consciousness. Though through the faculty of fellow-feeling it is possible for a human being to know quite vividly what it is like to be someone else. J. M. Coetzee

The moral implications of modern science: a tiny brain with great intelligence. Does that thinking and analyzing machine inside our heads account for all creativity, reasoning and sense of exploration? New research programs and findings suggest that animals and birds, especially those that are social in the wild, are capable of reasoning and communication similar to that of humans. Animal communication may be considered complex enough to be called a form of language if the inventory of signs is large, the signs are relatively arbitrary, and if the animals produce them with a degree of volition. Perhaps, one of the most surprising results of ‘animal language’ research and the most astonishing evidence of animal communication is the fact that some primates such as chimpanzees are capable of learning and using the basics of a sign language even faster than a human child.

Non-humans craft and use tools in the wild and prove to be more innovative than they thought to be. They can learn to perform tasks by watching another nonhuman do it (e.g. playing, washing food, bathing, using anything available as instruments) and adapt their behavior to the challenges they face either under natural conditions or in laboratory experiments. That problem-solving behavior is not always and solely an instinctive response, but the result of reasoning and choice. So, other sentient beings that do not speak a human language nevertheless think…?

C. Homeless Pets. Study the issue:

Homeless animals outnumber homeless people at least 5-to-1. 5 to 7 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year. Nearly 4 million strays - dogs and cats – are killed every year because shelters are too full and there aren't enough adoptive homes.

If you decide to adopt a dog, you don’t need to buy one from a pet shop or dog kennels out, but you can give a dog which has been abandoned a good home. There are many charities who have animals for adoption. If you surf the Web, you can find more information about these organisations.One of the websites is RSPCA. That's the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The world's first anti-cruelty law was introduced in Britain in 1822? Richard Martin, who served in Parliament, helped pass the Animal Protection Act. This Act outlawed cruelty to cattle, horses and sheep.

In 1824 the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was formed. This was five years before Britain had a police force. It was in 1840 that Queen Victoria honoured the society with the prefix ‘Royal' and the RSPCA was born

Since its beginning, the RSPCA has worked to promote the laws protecting animal welfare and has campaigned in the UK and across the world for the passing of new laws. One of its campaigns is to stop the unnecessary testing of cosmetics on animals such as rabbits. So they not only help pets and farm animals but also those used in research.

Part of protecting animals is punishing those people who break those laws, and the RSPCA does so with its 328 inspectors who investigate cruelty complaints. They do not investigate lost animals.

The RSPCA rescues abused and neglected animals every day. At its hospitals and clinics in England and Wales, it treats 280.000 animals every year. They also find new homes for over £ J 90.000 homeless animals every year.

Another important role in protecting animals is teaching people to respect them and the RSPCA does this through its education programmes. Education officers visit schools and community groups and conduct tours of the animal shelters. The Society even offers free advice about caring for animals.

The RSPCA does all this without any money from the government. It doesn't receive money from big companies or borrow money from banks. Their running costs are about £71 million a year and it gets the money from people who leave a donation.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-26