Spring is beautiful, bountiful, and blissful.

But there is nothing beautiful about horse whipping.

RSPCA’s campaign “Less is More” hopes to turn a corner and smack horse jockeys on the nose with a simple request: think about your horse before you whip it.

Where is the line that says “enough is enough”?  With the recent overruling of reforms that could have reduced the number of times a horse could be whipped on the racetrack, it is a clear concern that many jockeys are placing the finish line as more important than horse welfare.

The RSPCA are responding to The Australian Racing  Board’s ruling with several resources for the horse racing season. These include a girl’s guide to the upcoming racing season as well as a jockey “poor form guide”. RSPCA Australia are not holding back their anger. However, they are fighting with more than just the written word, with the option for campaign crusaders to email images of themselves at race day with the RSPCA “Less is More” sign. Emails can be directed to post@rspcalessismore.posterous.com, with your name and email address somewhere in the message body.

Spring has sprung, Australia. How about we allow horses to enjoy a spring in their step without being whipped to do it?

Dogs use up more energy resources than a car, authors claim

I am not in a position to disprove these findings, however, I want to look at the possible social implications of this study.

Firstly, I find that this study is once again crossing the fine line between “owning” pets and “adopting” animals. One correlates with the idea of animals as material possessions, the other with a notion of animals as “family”. By comparing and contrasting dogs, cats, and even birds with the ownership of a motor vehicle, both Robert and Linda Vale are going to get a lot of negative feedback from humane organisations who are trying to combat the “ownership” analogy that leads to many thousands of animals dumped at shelters or even in the wild every year.

Secondly, there is the inevitable question of “well, here’s the research – what are you going to do about it?” Does having a pet in the family negate your responsibility to the environment?

Let us look at the comparison that is provided in the article: between a German shepherd who creates an eco footprint of approximately 1.1 hectares, and a human in a developed country whose eco footprint is anywhere between 1.8 and 6 hectares.

Are we asking fertile women to undergo procedures to get their tubes tied? Are men guilted into having vasectomies so that they do not bring a child into their household that would create a eco footprint up to five times that of a large dog? No, they are not. However, “larger animals” are being victimised simply because they are large, with the author of the article suggesting goldfish and hamsters as a eco-friendly option for families who “want to own” an animal.

Lastly, there are many other ways to reduce your eco footprint other than giving up your companion animal. Take a walk instead of switching on the plasma. Have a candlelit dinner instead of using lightbulbs. Play board games instead of heading straight to your favourite console. Only purchase food that you know that you are going to consume, or have a worm farm to pick up the scraps.

I find it interesting that none of these options were discussed in the article.

Or, perhaps, I am not surprised that these suggestions were completely ignored in favour of “ditching the dog.”

Long story short – don’t believe all of the hype. If you want to be ecologically aware and still adopt an animal, do your research so that you can fulfill both obligations responsibly.

Some thoughts from me to you

I was lucky enough to attend my very first BTUB event last Friday evening. It was an excellent networking experience and a great social group.

And it’s not just the guinea pigs – now the budgies have joined in on the craze.

I guess I should not be surprised – my little cherubs, Piccolo and Scout, have always enjoyed spending time with their furry siblings. This camaraderie has increased tenfold since we rearranged our offices so that both budgies and guinea pigs could share the tiled office at the rear of the house. These are animals that thrive on social interaction. The cruelest thing in the world would be to deny that social engagement to them.

A lot of my friends owned birds in their youth, but I always note the joyous stories and memories of those lucky people who had more than one at the same time. I will admit that I had the one budgie when I was very young. Even when I adopted Piccolo, a violet/cobalt budgie (I’ve been told he’s rare and beautiful!), I adopted him with the intention of having a constant companion – a little bundle of feathers who would love me and talk to me and hang on my every word.

Well, Piccolo did do just that. And he still does. But then I started working late hours, and when I got home I felt too tired to engage in Piccolo’s eager chatter. Yes, something in my life needed to change. However, in the meantime, Piccolo needed a friend who he could tell all of his little stories to.

I started to take Piccolo over to my partner’s apartment, where he could hang out with her guinea pigs, Mr Wombat and Chris. It took no longer than a week for Piccolo to start mimicking their little “wheeks” as they waddled around their hutch. If the pigs came out to play, Piccolo would have to come to, and he would want to get into the middle of things right away. It led to the most uncomfortable conversation with our vet where I asked, “what are your thoughts about budgies and guinea pigs interacting?” She asked, “are you concerned about the pigs injuring your budgie?” and I replied, “no – I’m worried about Piccolo tearing the living snot out of the guinea pigs!”

It was obvious that budgie/guinea pig interactions were not the end solution. Piccolo would need a friend with feathers. Big Bird was nowhere to be found, so it would have to be another budgie.

We were blessed to find Scout. While not intentional on the breeder’s part, Scout had been calcium-deficient during his development, which led him to have a condition where his feet and legs are not able to grip as well as a normal budgie. People told me that I should return him because he was “defective”. I took him home and hoped that he and Piccolo would form a bond.

A year later and these two budgies are close friends. One will not travel without the other, and I cannot help but picture Scout as the dorky little brother following hs older sibling around , hoping that Piccolo will let him “hang out”. And Piccolo has changed from the over-enthusiastic bachelor to the master of the cage, helping his little apprentice onto perches and chirping encouragement.

It is an endless source of delight for me as well, and I know that I did the right thing by both of them. Budgies are flock birds, and even with Scout around, Piccolo is as bonded to me as ever. Whenever anyone comes up to me and asks about purchasing a bird, or even a guinea pig, I always tell them to adopt a pair.

Our companion animals, more than ever, need companions while we busy humans bring the money in to give them a loving and stable home. Toys engage for a while, but there is no substitute for the constant friend by their side.

To celebrate RSPCA Awareness Week (Oct 1 – 8), the RSPCA has launched a digitally restored version of its most famous television advertisement – Animal Walk.

From the biggest elephant to the smallest wombat, the iconic production from the RSPCA will amble back onto television screens over the coming weeks.