A lover of animals and a staunch advocate of animal rights, the fiery and very passionate Ushna Shah talks to Ally Adnan about the welfare, protection and well-being of animals.

You have three dogs, Narco, Audrey and Tweety.

Yes, I do. Narco is a Staffordshire Terrier, Audrey is a Toy Poodle and Tweety is mixed breed – a cross between a Toy Poodle and a Shih Tzu. They are the love of my life and as important to me as the humans in my life, if not more.

Do you prefer dogs to people?

Yes, I do.

Why?

They love you immensely, unreservedly and unconditionally. It is that simple; nothing more, nothing less.

Is your love for animals limited to dogs?

No, not at all. I love all animals. They make the world a better place.

How long have you felt a special kinship with animals?

I have loved animals for as long as I can remember, perhaps since I was in my mother’s womb. They are very near and dear to my heart. I want to them to lead long, happy and healthy lives.

The actor says animals feel love, hatred, pain, pleasure, fear, happiness, friendship and loneliness much in the same manner as humans. “They have the ability to suffer in the same way and to the same degree as humans. We need to treat them in a manner that recognises and respects their sentience”

Are dogs your favorite animals?

Yes, for sure.

Do you believe that dogs really are man’s best friend?

Yes, I do. Dogs are loyal, sincere and affectionate. They are always available, both emotionally and physically, for their human companions. They are smart. They are great company and give back much more love than they receive. They have great emotional intelligence and understand humans very well. Most importantly, they know how to love, truly and deeply. So, of course, they make great friends.

Research shows that dogs improve the physical and mental health of their human companions. People who live with dogs tend to have lower blood pressure, healthier lifestyles, lower cholesterol levels, and fewer health problems that those who do not have dogs in their lives.

What is the one thing that you like most about dogs?

I love that they watch television with you but do not try to monopolise the remote.

Why is the welfare of animals important?

Treating animals with consideration, love and respect is the right thing to do. It is sane, humane and kind. And, it is in line with the teachings of Islam. It is necessary that animals be given rights that allow them to lead lives that are free of pain and suffering. Animals feel love, hatred, pain, pleasure, fear, happiness, friendship and loneliness much in the same manner as humans. They have the ability to suffer in the same way and to the same degree as humans. We need to treat them in a manner that recognises and respects their sentience. The ‘humans first’ ideology of speciesism is as repugnant as racism, sexism, homophobia, bigotry, and xenophobia.

Why do people deny rights to animals?

People do not realise that animals have an inherent worth that does not have anything to do with their usefulness to humans. They do not know that animals are capable of feeling pain and suffering, understanding love and hate, and enjoying happy and comfortable lives. They grow up eating meat, wearing wool, silk and leather, going to zoos and circuses, and keeping pets caged and locked, without ever considering the impact of their actions on the animals involved. It is, then, not surprising that they deny animals their rights.

What do you think of zoos?

Zoos are prisons for animal who have committed no crimes. They are interested in making money and not in taking care of animals. Living in captivity is not right. It often makes animals go crazy and fall ill. Animals should all live in the wild, in their own natural habitats.

Humans have already taken up a lot of the habitats of animals. A large number of species have no wild habitats anymore.

That is true but the solution is not to lock those species up in zoos; it is to find ways of restoring their natural habitats and making sure that none are destroyed in the future.

What do you think of the recent spate of animal deaths in the Lahore Zoo?

They make me very angry and sad. I read about them and want to pull my hair out. Be it the elephant Suzi, the female cheetah from South Africa, the 12-year old Giraffe Sunny, the lion cub Angeela, or other birds and animals, I chalk their deaths up to mismanagement, negligence and mistreatment; absolutely criminal mismanagement, negligence and mistreatment, to speak the truth.

What do people need to do to ensure better lives for animals?

People need to take human chauvinism out, completely and totally, and expose it for what it really is – barbarism, cruelty and selfishness. They need to shame people and institutions that abuse animals and, more than anything else, work to create a society where it is culturally, socially and legally unacceptable to treat animals without love, kindness and consideration.

How have you used your celebrity to benefit the health and welfare of animals?

I have always been vocal about my support for animals and used the various platforms available to vigorously defend and promote their rights. I have done a lot of work for Todd’s Welfare Society, which protects injured, sick, abandoned, and neglected animals in Lahore. I will admit that I have not done nearly as much as I could and should have but am going to change that and do more in the future.

What do you plan to do to protect animal rights?

I plan to devote more time to work with local animal shelters, devoted veterinarians, and organisations that take care of animals. I plan to speak and write about animal rights, on a regular basis. I want to train people on taking proper care of their pets. And, I intend to lead a life that does not owe anything to the mistreatment of animals. I am an activist, at heart, and am going to make a difference. Just watch.

Are you a vegan?

I am not a vegan, as yet, but on my path to becoming one.

What is the difference between a vegetarian and vegan?

Vegans are vegetarians who completely avoid animal products. They are different from lacto-ovo vegetarians, who include dairy products and eggs in the diets, and lacto vegetarians, who consume dairy products but not eggs.

Do you use leather products?

I do but have stopped buying them.

Pakistan does not have a great record in the area of human rights. Arbitrary detention, torture, deaths at the hands of law enforcement agencies, unexplained disappearances, extrajudicial murders, child sexual abuse, harassment of minorities, involuntary marriages, forced conversions to Islam, and mistreatment of women are widespread. Do animal rights matter in such an environment?

Yes, they do. In fact, they matter even more because people who are kind to animals will also be kind humans. The abuse of animals puts humans on a slippery slope, making it easy for them to move on to the abuse of humans. Depraved people do not really discriminate between humans and animals; they treat both with cruelty and brutality. People who are kind and compassionate, on the other hand, treat both humans and animals with love, care and consideration.

The writer lives in Dallas and writes about culture, history and the arts. He tweets @allyadnan and can be reached at allyadnan@outlook.com

Published in Daily Times, March 27th 2018.