Nor'West News: July 19, 2016

4
Tuesday July 19 2016
FROM FIJI
McMaster & Heap
Veterinary practice
Thought I’d write a slightly different
article….
I’m in Fiji for ITF tennis with my son
Dylan for 2 weeks and I’ve never been
to Fiji before. An interesting, warm place
with splendid people. I’ve met some
great folk and seen some great tennis
and seen plenty of animals I so want to
help. We have had our share of ups and
downs on the tennis
court ( cramping
and a pulled
hamstring) and at our
resort ( leaking air
conditioning units,
power cuts, no Wifi
as promised), but
all has been sorted
eventually and has
made for a real travel
experience, one I’ll
never forget.
We are a reasonable drive from the tennis so
it’s been a 45 minute car drive filled of daily
adventures. We have had goats and cows just
traverse the road in front of us, speeding cars
and then ones that sit at 35km/hour and you
can’t pass them as passing lanes are rare. We
have seen a road traffic accident with fatalities
sadly. Fijians just
aim casually along
the sides of the
roads waiting to be
picked up for work
or getting places on
foot. Everyone looks
happy and relaxed in
sparkling clean attire,
yet there is brown
dust everywhere that
infiltrates everything.
The school children
look fantastic in
often starched
white uniforms and
clamber on the open
aired buses, arms
hanging out the
sides, laughing. The drivers are hugely
considerate, almost dangerously so,
slowing right down to let cars cross in
the middle of a busy open road. No
one is in a hurry and everyone is up and
rearing to go at 6.30am, waiting to be
picked up for work. Not many people
here own cars and taxis are everywhere.
The dogs touch my heart though. There
are so many that aimlessly wander all
over the place – in towns, sides of roads,
the tennis center and outside homes.
No one takes responsibility for them as the
breeding is rampant and out of control. None
are desexed so there are puppies everywhere.
They are scarily thin, bloated with worms,
crawling with fleas and ticks and hungry. They
still manage a tail wag though and I’ve even
managed to pat a few. I’m feeding them bread
and one square meals and they are so gently
accepting food. Many of them have sores all
over their bodies, no hair and many are feeding
puppies. Ive hardly seen any cats, except ones
that have unfortunately been squashed on the
roads. The grazing tethered cows look friendly
but on approaching them, they show me the
whites of their eyes and lower their heads to
charge. I have met a local Fijian Architect who
is building a Veterinary Hospital In Nadi, funded
Open 7 days
Cnr Hoon Hay & Coppell place
phone 338 2534, Fax 339 8624
e. mcmasterandheap@yahoo.co.nz
www.mcmasterheap.co.nz
by a wealthy
American couple
who want to help
the companion
animals here.
There is a small
SPCA clinic in
Lautoka but no
surgeries can be
performed there.
The only clinic is in
Suva where short
anaesthetics can
be performed. I
think Steve and
I would be keen
to come back
here and offer our
expertise and help these animals and
train some of the vets here. We’d bring
equipment and supplies with us next
time.
I have befriended a fantastic group of Fijian
children at the Lautoka tennis club. They are
aged between 7 and 12 years of age and get
tennis coaching for free on Sundays, racquets
and balls provided by the club. None of them
have shoes to play in, most are from very poor
families and tennis is an expensive sport. I
went out and bought 10 pairs of sports shoes
of different sizes for them
to be kept at the club and
used for the children that
need them. They were all
so grateful. Dylan is back
in August so I’ll send back
most of the boys old tennis
tops for the kids to enjoy
playing in. If they progress
at tennis it could be a way
out for these children.
I won’t
forget my 2
weeks here.
Everybody
thought I
wouldn’t like
Fiji at all, but
the openness
and genuine
friendliness
and interest
shown
by these
people have
made this
experience
one I’ll never
forget. I feel
Steve, Isaac
and I can make a difference to these people in
educating them on respecting and caring for
their pets, when we next return. It makes you
really realize how priviledged and wealthy we
all are. Giving back a little feels good.
Just an update on Indie, the White German
Shepherd, who managed to deliver 8 little
wriggley white pups on her own ( 6 boys and
2 girls) on 16th June. All are doing well, she is
an exceptional mother and my friend Mala
is realizing how big a responsibility and job
breeding is. All pups have homes – 6 will be
staying in Christchurch and 2 heading North.
DR Michele McMaster
McMaster & Heap
Your Local Views
Shortage of critical thinking
Kennedy’s
Bush
resident
Graham
Townsend
writes this
week’s
opinion piece about
the lack of critical
thinking when it
comes to topics such
as climate change
I’ve spent a lifetime
teaching science.
If you define science to
include critical thinking,
I count the efforts of New
Zealand as a total failure.
Why?
Because critical thinking
is the ability to examine
evidence and conflicting
claims without allowing
prejudices or personal
interest to intrude.
And critical thinking,
sadly, is in seriously short
supply today.
This is what the
pioneering psychologist
William James meant
when he said that “A great
many people think they
are thinking, when they
are merely rearranging
their prejudices.”
An example: climate
change.
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Comment threads and
twitter feeds are full of unsupported
prejudice rather
than fact.
“Climate change is not
happening”; “scientists
are all lying to get more
funding for their research”;
“climate always changes,
it’s not our fault”; “we are
due for a new ice age so
climate change is good”.
People who post this
rubbish ignore that fact
that science is a merciless
process of critically analysing
both the raw data and
the predictions made from
them.
I invite any lay-person
who thinks they can do
better to submit their own
analysis to the global science
community.
Fame and possibly fortune
awaits you if you can
prove the current consensus
wrong.
So why do these denier
memes refuse to die?
Simply because we can’t
face the conclusion that we
NOR’WEST NEWS
– all of us – are changing
the climate.
That unpleasant fact hits
at the heart of our whole
lifestyle: our love affair
with cars, jet skis, quad
bikes and flying.
So the hands go over the
ears and we start coming
up with excuses and lies.
Let me state this clearly:
every major national science
academy around the
world has examined the
evidence and they are all
seriously concerned.
So what do we do?
Individual actions are
not enough – we need policy
changes at a national
and international level.
Politicians generally follow
public opinion – they
will do nothing until we
demand action.
And that won’t happen
until enough of us face the
truth.
That brings me back
to education and critical
thinking.
H.G Wells famously said
“Human history becomes
more and more a race
between education and
catastrophe”.
That’s never been truer
or more urgent than today.
Use your vote wisely.
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