I forget how I stumbled upon these two examples of Saudi men torturing street cats. There seems to be quite a few street cats in Saudi Arabia. My research indicates a callous attitude towards feral cats in line with what Ahsan says about the attitude of many Pakistanis in Pakistan towards their feral cats. Note: Ahsan is a former contributor to PoC but he’s no good either in my opinion.
The Saudi legal system does not recognise the concept of animal welfare and protection through law.
There are two videos of two different Saudi men torturing different street cats. I won’t show the videos because they are too upsetting and I believe that watching people being cruel to cats is unhealthy for us. It can damage us if you are sensitive towards the welfare of animals. However, I will provide some screenshots and a description of what happened. The screenshots are not grisly and nasty. I’ve deliberately selected ones which are not upsetting. I watched one of the videos (plastic bag on cat) but not the other (the one of a cat having its tail cut off).
Street Cat with Bag Stuck on Its Head
In this video there are 2 young Saudi Arabian men in a car and they see a street cat at the side of the road with a bag stuck on his/her head. It appears to be a bag that once contained a convenience food for humans such as crisps. The cat is unable to get the bag off and it may have been stuck on for some time. It is clear that the cat was searching for food at the bottom of the bag and was unable to remove his head from the bag. The cat was therefore blind but managed to manoeuvre around the streets, nonetheless.
When the Saudi men see the cat the driver stops the car, gets out and walks towards the cat. The young Saudi man is laughing as he does so and laughs louder when the cat hearing the approaching footsteps runs off. As the cat has to run to escape what he perceives as a danger he is unable to ensure that he does not run into things. As a result, the cat runs into many objects quite forcefully which must have been very painful and which may have injured the cat’s head. The Saudi man laughs at this.
The young Saudi man, laughing as he does so, walks after the cat while the cat, in terror, continues to run away from him. Eventually the cat ends up in a confined area where he is trapped and can no longer move at which point the Saudi man very quickly pulls the bag from the cat’s head. The cat runs off into the street and hides under a car. That is the description of the video.
It is difficult to say that this Saudi man was torturing this poor cat – a mainly white cat, by the way, with dark large blobs of color. The description below the video on you Tube and in comments is that he was torturing the cat but it is clear that he was trying to approach the cat to get the bag off his head.
The very unpleasant bit about the video is that the Saudi man laughs all the time indicating that he finds the terrifying ordeal of the cat amusing. It is a stark callousness indicating a total disregard for animal welfare. It tends to indicate to me that the average young Saudi man living in Saudi Arabia perceives street cats as pests and vermin.
Saudi Man Cuts Tail off Cat
Note: I think the word “cutting” is inaccurate as this insensitive Saudi idiot is using a car wrench of some sort which presumable smashes the tail.
As mentioned, I have not watched this video. I couldn’t bring myself to watch it but the opening screenshot of the video (see below) tells me all I need to know and there is a short caption below the video which tells us that a Saudi boy films a Saudi man cutting off the tail of a cat because the cat damaged his car fan.
No doubt the cat, as is commonplace, was inside the engine compartment of the car and when the car started up the cooling fan struck the cat both injuring the cat and damaging the car fan at the same time. Most people would view this is in a completely opposite manner to which the Saudi man regarded it.
He sees it as a cat damaging his car. Most people would see a car damaging a cat. It is quite an interesting diametrically opposite way of seeing things. It indicates to me, once again, that in Saudi Arabia men and perhaps women perceive the street cat as a pest and a nuisance to be gotten rid of. It would be wrong of me to generalize and therefore I would have to say that there are probably many Saudi citizens who are sensitive towards the plight of the street cat but in general I see a callous, uncaring and insensitive attitude towards feral cats.
In this video, this Saudi man obviously did torture the unfortunate cat. No doubt the police did nothing about it.
General Attitude of Saudis Towards Street Cats?
Well, there are at least two petitions on petition websites: Stop the brutal abuse in Saudi Arabia. The petitioner on one site states that the street cats are being hunted and tortured in a lot of inhumane ways.
Personally, I have seen some horrendous photos of street cats who have hurt themselves badly (their faces are badly damaged – heading picture) in trying to escape cages where they are not feed or watered. This is Saudi torture of cats no more no less. Shame on you.
My online research tells me that there are no animal welfare laws in Saudi Arabia (KSA) and that animals in general are liable to be mistreated. This isn’t just about cats. It is extraordinary that the Saudi legal system does not recognise the concept of animal welfare and protection through law. This is a serious failure.
A little while ago there was a ban on the sale of cats and dogs in shops in Saudi Arabia. It followed a religious edict by the Ifta Council (religious police). Also walking dogs and cats was banned. The reason? To stop men using pets to pick up women. We know how sexist Saudi Arabia is towards women. This is an example. The deeming way women are treated is linked to the cruelty meted out to animals. It is male human ignorance and arrogance.
Conservative Muslims regard the dog as unclean (this is speciesism – a form of animal racism). And they consider it an insidious Western influence for young men to flaunt their dogs in public. “This is blind emulation of the infidels.”
But why bring the cat into this strict law when it is common knowledge that the Prophet Mohammed loved cats. The attitude towards cats should be good but clearly isn’t.
I’m mystified that anyone would percieve someone taking the time to chase after a cat & remove a bag from its head as “torture”.
As for the laughter – it is not too difficult for empathic forgiving loving people to comprehend that someone might find a cat w/ a bag on its head cute & funny. I have seen people laugh at this in real life before rescuing their cat or dog from their predicament. Really people? The Arab gentleman is *evil* for rescuing the cat? Wow.
Arabs LOVE cats. This has been true for thousands of years. Including keeping them in shops to kill mice etc. In Egypt cats were mummified. This is still evident today. They are seen as clean & intelligent & useful for hunting vermin. (As opposed to being seen AS vermin as described – lied about – here).
However – as in Sicily – most people think it is cruel & unatural to castrate male cats (& fix female cats though the latter does not come up as much in conversation). Hence when male kittens grow up & start spraying they can no longer be kept in the home or in shops & are left outside. Female cats ARE kept inside – as are kittens. (I do not agree w/ this btw but when I was in Italy in the 80s I could not influence people to change their minds about this serious matter. It may be better there now).
What you have written about dogs is an old anti-Arab trope. There are many intensely loved & valued dogs kept by Arabs. Salukis are proudly bred & doted on. (Traditional hunting dog). Then there are the traditional sheparding dogs kept by Bedouin & farmers (Fellahin) to guard sheep & livestock.
What is misunderstood & what I believe is the origin of the misunderstanding in the West (aside from Orientalism & racism toward Arabs) is that because dogs are not allowed in the house they are erroneously percieved to be despised. Firstly: it is warm there so the dogs are comfortable outside. Second: as with other Asian people; traditionally we sleep on the floor & eat sitting on the floor (on beautiful carpets & mattresses like futons that get rolled up & stored in or on an armoir etc.). For these reasons of course dogs are perceived as “dirty”. (Compared to cats & of course humans).
It is no different than in Japan (for only one example) yet it is ONLY Arabs that are spoken about (by Americans etc.) regarding these lies about how they/we feel about dogs & cats. This is NOT a coincidence. Frankly it is getting really tiring. If you watch the Westminster dog show you will see all the various purebred dog breeds that have been lovingly bred & raised by Arabs & the Syrian peoples (Palestinians & Syrians & Lebanese etc.) through tens of centuries & finally passed on to the rest of the world. This was not accomplished by people who “hate dogs”. And the extreme love – bordering on worship at various points in history – that Arabs have for cats has been written about & painted & photographed & admired by countless authors & artists over the years. Our great love for cats is almost a trope in itself.
I suggest that people here read about the various Arab & Syrian dog breeds & the history of cats there & the actual reasons there are hungry cats roaming around (as stated it is for the same reasons as in Sicily) – before relying on typical anti-Arab bashing. I would also suggest you read the book ‘Orientalism’ by the late scholar & professor Edward Said; to understand the underpinnings of your erroneous sentiments toward ‘Arabs’. And also the books ‘The TV Arab’ & ‘Reel Bad Arabs’ by Jack Shaheen who recently passed & which was made into a documentary of the same name. These will illuminate you about the origins of your anti-Arabism.
The comments here are astonishing. “Build a wall around” a country? Really? Arabs “hate dogs” when Salukis cost thousands of dollars & are treated like prized horses. WOW. It is evident where your comments stem from. Otherwise you would be bashing Japanese people saying they “hate” cats & dogs also – when they have the same cleanliness customs that cause them to have different rules regarding wether dogs & cats belong inside the living quarters of a home than the average Westerner. If everyone is sitting on a pristine carpet w/ a pristine cloth eating they cannot have a dog wandering OVER their plates. Please educate yourself about other cultures (vs. just paying taxes to bomb them etc.).
And should anyone think I am a Saudi Arabian who has taken offense & is biased; I am American w/ a mum from Berlin & a Lebanese American dad (Orthodox btw not Muslim – since somehow Islam seems to have wound its way into your stereotyping. Not all Arabs are muslims as implied here). I am only tired of these tired uninformed lies I have been hearing for years regarding “Arabs” & “dogs” & “cats”.
And the rest of the comments in the thread were simply bizarre. One from a Syrian person that wishes an ILL fate for Syria & Syrians; including for those trapped there to live under IS/Daesh? It is very difficult to believe that this person is actually Syrian. Astonishing.
Hello Z, Thank you for commenting. Thank you for your extensive comment. I think that you will agree that the article is very balanced. I have not said that laughing at a cat with a bag on its head is cruel. I have said that it is callous. It indicates a callous attitude towards a cat in discomfort. That is all I’m saying. I cannot account for the views of others in comments. They have their own views. They are not my views. I have to publish them even if I may disagree with them because freedom of speech is protected in the West.
I don’t write about dogs on this website. Well, I might write about them rarely. The key issue really I think about the Arab world is whether you have adequate animal welfare protection laws. My research at the time indicated that there were no animal welfare laws in Saudi Arabia. That I am afraid to say is a disgrace if it is still true. And it does indicate a poor attitude towards animal welfare at the top, amongst the lawmakers and the rulers. Although it seems that animal cruelty does controvene Islamic law but a strong animal welfare law would greatly enhance animal welfare in Saudi Arabia. Why haven’t you go decent laws protecting animals? Or have you?
The rest of the article also refers to other areas of animal cruelty in Saudi Arabia. I believe that the article is very fair and very balanced and based on a reasonable argument.
You have course of the right to defend the attitude of Saudi Arabian people towards animals. And a right to criticise the West. Clearly, there is a big disparity between the attitudes of the West and the Middle East. We are very different. We don’t really understand each other it seems.
Another area that I find difficult to accept is the poor protection of human rights in Saudi Arabia. This is well documented. Poor human rights = poor animal rights.
• I did not say I was only replying to yourself Mr.Broad. Obviously I *was* also replying — point by point — to comments by others in the thread.
• I responded to the comments *here* about “dogs”. Despite they are not your area of focus — they were made here. As I explained above they are common anti-Arab tropes in existence for years which are untrue. Both about cats & dogs. I explained that people do not make the same comments about Japanese people — for one example. Despite their similar customs inc. re. cats & dogs. (Except that Arabs are even *more* emamoured of dogs — such as Salukis — which I described above).
• For some reason; despite my having explained in paragraph 10 of my comment that I am American w/ a mum from Berlin Germany & a dad (not muslim but indigenous Christian) whose family came here in the 1890s; you have responded to me as if I am NOT American & NOT from the “West” & do not have a mum whose family goes back at least to the 15th c. in Frankfurt am Main Germany (as that is what the stone lintel above our ancestral house said; 14 something w/ our name which means ‘courtier’ = free landowning lord acompanying the date). So I really don’t know how I could get any *more* Western for you. The fact that I have a Lebanese (American Christian) father seems to have led you off course. As you asked me why I don’t change our/my laws in Saudi Arabia. ?… Because I’m American as I pointed out. This is a racist micro-aggression on your part sir. Wow. I wonder when I will be seen as being from the “West”. It’s ridiculous & tiresome. My great great grandfather was an English lord. So funny. Please examine your inborn bias (dog whistle racism/anti-Arabism).
• I explained that I myself am an animal rights advocate; as evidenced by my statement about trying to change people’s minds — about neutering etc. — in Sicily when I was there.
• I doubt most people would percieve a man taking the time to chase after a cat trapped in a crisps/chips/snack bag as “callous”; if he were pale & blond & blue eyed & wearing shorts etc… vs. wearing a traditional thob & kefiyeh. This was a very kind animal loving act; it is only WHO has done it that is making you INSIST it was “callous”.
Thank you very much for reading & for your time Sir. — Zoé
PS: I did not say I am in favour of Saudi Arabia’s horrid human rights record. I am a human rights advocate (as well as an animal rights advocate). I was responding to the untrue anti-Arab tropes here; not the human rights records of various nations. Now that you have introduced the subject & framed it using the term “West” (etc.); have you noticed that innocent American Black men & women & children are being shot to death by police right & left? Wow. Have you noticed that innocent Arab American men in NYC (& elsewhere) were arrested & interrogated & Arab Americans had their phones monitored by the police? Are you aware of the Black teenager who killed himself after being falsely arrested for stealing a backpack & kept in solitary confinement for ages (& abused etc. but no time for that Saga here)? Are you aware of how Native Americans are forced to live here? That Native women had their children forcibly taken from them & suffered forced sterilisation; which only ceased in the 1970s. That people DIE in this wealthy nation because they cannot afford health care & surgeries. Saudi Arabia is not the ONLY govt. that engages in human rights violations. Also the “West” — whilst crying about animals — engages in PROLIFIC human rights violations.
*kept in solitary confinement for years without a trial — I should have written.
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