BP Only Provides What the World Demands

By Ingrid E. Newkirk

BP has more than the loss of human life, livelihoods and tourism to answer for. And so do the government inspectors who allowed this corporation—as seemingly greedy as the bankers whose careless conduct has resulted in similar destruction—to put profit over safety. But this British company, operating all over the world, is providing a service that not only jet setters but anyone using plastics from Manchester and Miami to Milan and Mumbai demands.

President Obama has ordered a criminal investigation of BP and if it finds that corporate executives and US government employees who signed off on the drill-site inspection sheets and safety assurances shows willful fraud and deception, dereliction of duty, bribes or who knows what else, there is one additional set of criminal charges that should be added to the list: cruelty to animals. For this is also the largest case of cruelty to animals in U.S. history.

It is hard to even glance at the photographs of the animals who have died and are still dying, slowly, painfully, not just coated but drenched, in oil. It is hard to see the gulls and pelicans, blinking up through a thick coat of muck that prevents them from flying, eating, taking a drink of water and escaping the burning heat of June. It is too much to come across a snippet of video that shows a huge rubber-gloved hand gently plucking a tiny crab out of a puddle of black glop. Only the outline of his body tells you what he is, although his struggles tell you that he is still alive.

For most of the animals, any help is too late. Even if wildlife rescuers contain a bird in time, before much oil damage has been done, it is thought that the sheer terror of being handled by a predator, of being force-fed, doused and scrubbed, then rescrubbed, is too much for their pounding hearts to endure. Even if they survive the trauma of attempted rescue, odds are that most die after their release.

And in this case, one has to ask, “Where can they be released?” Many birds mate for life; others are lost without their flocks. Across many US states, their nesting grounds now lie under the slick, their friends and family are dead or dying. The ocean and estuaries are thick with oil. What and where is there for them to return to?

And what of the turtles, dolphins and the whales? Cetacean experts say whales will not escape this slick. Once killed for their oil, will they now be killed by ours?

And what of the fish? As inconvenient as it may be to think about it, given the seafood dishes some people find it hard to resist, studies show that fish feel pain and fear every bit as much as mammals. It is only that they look odd and we are not taught to respect them that makes anyone able to turn a blind eye to their suffering.

Whether or not BP is charged with cruelty, there are many things that we can and should do if we are to be responsible world citizens. Some suggestions are to provide less support to oil companies by consuming less oil, to buy fewer plastic goods (the beaches of Hawaiian atolls are inches deep in discarded plastic that have come from every country imaginable) and to follow recommendations issued by the United Nations this very month by going vegan to save the waterways, forests and ozone layer. The governments of all nations would do well to announce that all government events will now be pure vegetarian, if not for the animals’ and our health’s sake, for the Earth’s, and urging citizens to turn away from meat and milk.

Those responsible in the corporate world and in government can never make amends via pay-outs. How do you “make it up” to those who are suffering and dying in agony out there at this very moment or to others who have lost their lives or loved ones? But, before we look away from the photographs of the umpteenth oil-coated heron, let’s do something positive and make some personal choices ourselves so that none of the oil companies can claim consumer demand as a reason for misbehaving. It’s just a thought.

Ingrid E. Newkirk is the founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and PETA US. She is author of “One Can Make a Difference”, “Making Kind Choices”, and “The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights”.