Animal Awards.

I have not put this in the pets and animal section because I wanted people's reactions to these awards. For those who saw it of course. Paul O'Grady hosted the awards, with celebrities presenting them, as is usual with all awards. No red carpet, posh frocks, or big egos on show though

Firstly I would like to say that I admire anyone who dedicates their life to the preservation and welfare of animals both at home and in other countries and they deserve recognition for their work, although I'm sure that is not what they look for.

I thought it was admirable to recognise the achievements of the people involved and to recognise the fact that animals played an important part in the lives and work of the people featured. But do you think it's appropriate to name the awards "The British Animal Awards". And should animals be given accolades when they have no clue what they have done, or is it just another way for us humans to pat each other on the back?

To be honest I found some of it cringe worthy.

Re: Animal Awards.

I turned it off. Not sure why but it struck me as being unreal.

Re: Animal Awards.

I'm sure programmes such as that do much to make people in general appreciate animals more, I know I do when I saw some of their achievements.

Re: Animal Awards.

Did not watch but, altho probably overdone, it at least gives an appreciation of animals and may do some good in promoting their welfare to the 'ignorants'...

Re: Animal Awards.

I did not see it but I admire anyone who puts animals before others.
I do not think it needs awards to highlight this as most of the people I know who help animals do not wish to be in the limelight, they prefer to work in the background as it gives them more satisfaction. To be highlighted then puts pressure on a person to try to do more.

Re: Animal Awards.

I didn't watch it but I did catch the end of a programme where a dog handler was being interviewed. He and his dog had gone out to China to help in some disaster that had happened and the dog was used to find people/bodies buried in the rubble. He was asked why robots weren't used and said that 'robots can only detect things to a certain depth where the dog can detect them regardless of the depth. The dog can also distinguish between injured bodies and those of other volunteers working in the area and that's what makes them so special'. That I thought was wonderful.

Re: Animal Awards.

Yep - I think overall - the programme was a worthy one....

Re: Animal Awards.

While it shows the amazing abilities of these dogs, it has taken science, dedication, training and the love of humans to allow the dogs to fulfil their potential. Humans and dogs have a long and amazing history of working and living together for the mutual benefit of each species. Long may it be so.

Re: Animal Awards.

So very, very true mesco - the bond between dog and human is a valuable one.

Re: Animal Awards.

As someone who founded and still runs an animal welfare charity, I am constantly chafing against the "animal rescuers as angels" approach. Those of us involved in such work are not angels, we are ordinary people who have benefitted a great deal from our relationships with animals (dogs in our case) and simply want to give something back. The last thing we want to do as an animal welfare group is to recruit "angels" - we want down to earth, ordinary people who can see the wood for the trees and don't get caught up in emotion when there are (occasionally) hard decisions to be made. The "angels" are those over-emotional, "never say no" people who end up in the headlines when their homes become flooded with other people's unwanted pets and they can't cope. Ironically they have then become the very people they set out to help and it is their animals that need rescuing from the rescuer.