A is for Animals

ANIMALS IN WAR
People are fascinated by animal social organization and interactive behavior. Visitors to zoos and viewers of wildlife documentaries are captivated by meerkat social groups going about their business while a designated lookout remains on guard for danger, are intrigued by the incessant hierarchial interactions that occur within a group of ungulates, are awed by the sophisticated social organization of a hive of bees and amazed by the apparently telepathic communication between the members of a hunting pack of wild dogs. The political machinations of a group of chimpanzees approach a human level of sophistication with respect to the strategic development of alliances and the lobbying inherent in this process.

It can be seen in these scenarios that cooperative social behaviour usually functions to enhance the survival of families, tribes and communities by providing mechanisms for the division of resources and the resolution of conflict without resort to serious physical confrontation.

As human beings we’ve long been interested in contemplating the nature of our ‘superiority’ over animals. Our capacity for complex social organization (which culminates in the organization and administration of nations) far exceeds that of the most socially adept animals. War is a human behavioural phenomenon & represents an unusually deleterious manifestation of social organization and behaviour in which large scale conflict is employed to resolve issues as concrete as disputes over geographical boundaries and the resources they contain or as esoteric as disputes over divergent religious philosophies.

Our notions of superiority over animals have justified our putting them to use…as beasts of burden, for transport, as sources of food, vehicles for communication and for the purposes of war. With the advent of warriors mounted on horseback thousands of years before Christ animals became part of the machinery of war involved in skirmish and reconnaissance. Pack animals were crucial to maintaining armies during conflicts. The invention of the wheel gave rise to chariots and chariot warfare and armies that most effectively wielded these tools won battles. Other taxa of animal were given other roles….pigeons were used for communication, dogs and even pigs for the detection of ordinance. Other animals played an important role in maintaining morale as companions and mascots. And then there were those creatures that undermined war efforts…the opportunistic pests, scavengers and reservoirs of disease.

The utility of animals and their exploitation by man makes many people uneasy. The French philosopher & scientist Rene Descartes proposed in the 17th century that animals were automata; soulless machines with programmed responses & no capacity for pleasure or suffering. Modern philosophers disagree with this and argue that man has an ethical responsibility to consider the welfare of the animals which are being used. This is intuitive to anybody that has ever formed a relationship with a pet or contemplated the social behaviours of a group of wild animals. War is a human construct that causes premature and death and suffering in many of its participants, both human and non human. Animals as machines have been responsible for determining the outcomes of wars but it is our empathy with animals impacted by war that generates the most enduring cultural artefacts.

DR BENN BRYANT

Senior Veterinarian, Taronga Western Plains Zoo

On the occasion of the Opening of A is for Animals: An A to Z of Animals in War at the Western Plains Cultural Centre.