Pets Against Starvation

Without getting into the morality or ethics of it, it's a pretty sure bet that Americans are more moved by the sight of an animal in peril than they are at images of their fellow human beings in distress.

Let's face it. When encountering a homeless kitten--the wide frightened eyes, the mussed fur, the plaintive mewling--many people have a visceral "Aww, poor thing" feeling in their gut. On the other hand, when seeing impoverished third-world citizens on television infomercials--skeletal limbs jutting from thier grotesque potbellied torsos, flies infesting their eyes, mouths and open sores, bare-chested mothers whose breasts hang loose and flat like empty paper sacks--we're likely to switch the channel in horror, or watch in slack-jawed, apathetic revulsion.

Each year in America, animal shelters euthanize tens of thousands of unwanted puppies and kittens. Each year in Africa, tens of thousands of people die from starvation. Far more manage to survive, only to face a life of hardship, ignorance and hopelessness.

For the bright and cynical reading this, no, I am NOT suggesting that we ship our excess animals to impoverished nations for consumption.

I propose that these animals, which would ordinarily be killed, be shipped to Pets Against Starvation distribution centers in the third world. These animals would arrive fully sponsored by benefactors in more developed countries. The sponsorship fees would be used to feed, clothe and shelter both the animal and its new owner, and if sufficient, be used to provide medicines and education. Each month, the owner would bring the animal back to the distribution center so that Pets Against Starvation can verify the health of the pet, and if it is in satisfactory condition, disburse to the owner his monthly rations.

Aid being contingent upon the well-being of the animal, the owner has incentive to care for it. The welfare of the animal being contingent on aid provided to the owner, the animal-loving benefactor has incentive to maintain his sponsorship.

In short, animals may benefit from care, companionship and not being euthanized. The impoverished may benefit from food, companionship and not starving to death. And we westerners can feel good about ourselves, having saved an animal without having our carpets ruined, and having saved a third-world wretch from poverty without having to endure looking at him.