Parents should instill in their children confidence and humility to be sensitive to animal welfare

 This is a short note on a subject which might be obvious to many people but despite that I think that it needs to be stated clearly. I've seen many pictures of sport hunters smiling to the camera with their rifle in front of them together with the iconic, large animal that they have shot dead. They seem proud of themselves, oblivious to the pain and distress they've caused for their entertainment.

Parents should instill in their children confidence and humility to be sensitive to animal welfare. Image: MikeB

They are obscene pictures. This sport hunter is often a man but not always. Whether they are a man or a woman they are invariably confident individuals, certain in what they are doing.

When their confidence leaks into arrogance and you combine arrogance with ignorance you have a very human-centric person who is able to shoot an animal dead and in doing so cause a lot of pain and distress. Arrogance in the human leads to insensitivity towards animal welfare.

Human-centric attitudes are also described as anthropocentric attitudes. The dictionary definition of anthropocentric is: "regarding humankind as the central or most important element of existence, especially as opposed to God or animals."

Armed with that attitude people can look down on animals. When you look down on animals as secondary creatures in terms of value you engage in an extreme form of speciesism which allows you to abuse animals and believe that they are non-sentient.

In believing that they are non-sentient or being careless or reckless as to whether they are or are not, you are able to cause them pain.

But this attitude stems from confidence without humility. Confident people need to understand the meaning of humility and its advantages. They should be modest about themselves. In being modest they can temper that confidence and understand that animals have rights, sometimes equal rights or they should do.

The dictionary definition of 'humility': the quality of having a modest or low view of one's importance.

Confidence with humility is a barrier to an anthropocentric attitude towards the planet. This is so important for animal welfare. Every sport hunters need a heavy dose of humility. If they had suffered early in their lives and been brought down; made vulnerable by a circumstance or an event it would have knocked that arrogance out of them. They would then understand better the position of animals on this planet.

The world can do without anthropocentric, arrogant people who are ignorant about animal welfare without realising it.

P.S. Kids need confidence in order to made headway in the world when adults. Life is much harder for a young person if they lack confidence.