(463 words) Man, as everyone knows, is the crown of nature. However, sometimes this definition becomes sarcastic, with a negative coloration. Often, in spite of the intelligence that we possess, we commit stupid and sometimes cruel acts. It is terrible when they are aimed at their own kind, but even worse - when we harm our smaller brothers, who can not fend for themselves. Can a person be cruel to animals? The question, the answer to which lies on the surface: of course not. And I will prove it with the help of literary examples.
To be cruel to those who are weaker is the most disgusting baseness to which only people without moral values can go down. This is understood even by the main character of the poem N.A. Nekrasova "Grandfather Mazay and the Hare." The hunter (who is far from being a "friend" for animals) understands that nature needs to be protected. That is why, when a flood occurred in the forest in the spring, he did not shoot poor rabbits, but saved them by taking them to his boat, and then released them into the wild. He took home a couple of weakened eared animals that did not have the strength to run away and cured. Letting them go, Mazai advised the hares in winter not to catch his eye, after all, he is a hunter, and in another situation they would surely become his game. In this situation, all the actions of Mazay are justified, first of all, by an elementary desire not to harm. In the flood, the forces are unequal: the hares simply cannot escape from the hunter, and he perfectly understands this, but does not use his position. The hero knows that cruelty to animals is unacceptable not only because of moral convictions, but also because it will result in the extinction of entire species, without which people will not survive on Earth. This means that a person cannot allow himself to be cruel to our smaller brothers.
Good parents instill a love of nature for every child from early childhood, but sometimes something goes wrong. Unfortunately, children raised poorly or not raised at all have a tendency to mistreat animals. And also these children grow up and become parents who set a terrible example for their own offspring. And evil grows ... This situation has developed in the story of Sasha, the hero of Y. Yakovlev’s book “He Killed My Dog”. His father mercilessly took the life of the dog, whom the boy sheltered and hoped to raise from him a savior of the drowning. The incident left an indelible mark on Sasha's soul; he despises his father, because he did worse than the previous owners of the dog, who threw her out, but at least did not take their life. This disgusting baseness destroyed the peace and quiet in the family, shook the son’s trust in the parent. This means that a person does not have a moral right to cruelty towards our smaller brothers, because such an attitude towards them destroys the moral foundations on which society is based.
I believe that a person does not have the right, through a stupid whim, to be cruel to animals that definitely did not deserve it. Their cruel treatment promises environmental and moral problems in society. Causing damage to our smaller brothers, people doom the planet to impoverishment, and to themselves - to extinction.
