Animal Welfare

The cartoon pictured above was featured in a September 1933 issue of a satirical journal. It glorifies Göring's decisions.

I was intrigued by what Ms. Wilsey brought up in class, about how people seem to care about endangered animals more than other human beings in need of help. Ironically, this was very true for Nazi Germany. They had extreme views about animal protection. In fact, Nazi Germany was the first to ban vivisection. Hermann Göring (a leading member of the Nazi party) said, "An absolute and permanent ban on vivisection is not only a necessary law to protect animals and to show sympathy with their pain, but it is also a law for humanity itself.... I have therefore announced the immediate prohibition of vivisection and have made the practice a punishable offense….Until such time as punishment is pronounced the culprit shall be lodged in a concentration camp". Göring also banned commercial animal trapping, placed extreme restrictions on hunting, and regulated the use of horse shoes. One time, Göring sent a fisherman to a concentration camp for dissecting a bait frog.

Of course, the Nazis also used these strict laws as a means of justifying the killing of some Jews. Jewish scientists were prosecuted for accused vivisection practices. On February 15th, 1942, Jews were prohibited from even keeping pets.

The present-day animal welfare laws in Germany are pretty much just modified versions of the laws introduced by the Nazis.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_welfare_in_Nazi_Germany

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Göring

Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/AnimalRightsNaziGermany.jpg