Breastfeeding animals by humans – could it be more common than you imagined?
Did you have to look twice at the picture below? I certainly did. It shows a Thai woman breastfeeding a tiny puppy while her child looks on.
The story behind this photo — which has gone viral — is that the stray pup was orphaned after its mom was killed in a car accident. So the woman in the picture decided to breastfeed the little orphan canine.
Not surprisingly, her gesture and kindness has been applauded and admired by touched netizens in Thailand and other Asian countries.
Breastfeeding animals by humans: This Thai woman took it upon herself to nourish a stray orphaned puppy.
Breastfeeding animals by humans: Not just in Asia
We hear of mothers breastfeeding baby animals in other parts of the world too – like the two Swedish women who raised kittens like babies, with one of them even letting the kitten suckle at her breast.
But in contrast to the Thai woman, these two wannabe cat moms had not stepped in to help out a forsaken animal.
Instead, reports say that the pair had pushed the two cats around in strollers, spoon-fed the felines who were strapped in high chairs and had also let the kittens suck on pacifiers!
The cats were taken by Swedish animal protection officers and the women were been banned from owning pets again.
Breastfeeding animals by humans: Is it safe?
It’s often true kindness that leads a human to nurse another’s baby — especially if it belongs to another species. But where should the line be drawn?
In the case of the Thai woman, she was clearly acting out of compassion for the pup, who would have probably starved to death if not for her intervention. This wasn’t the case with the Swedes who seemed to be merely satisfying their own particular brand of fetish.
Also breastfeeding a baby animals may come with health risks to both the human and animal.
Veterinary experts say that breastfeeding a human baby and animal baby concurrently is probably not a good idea because of the risk of certain zoonotic diseases being passed on to the former.
Also, human breastmilk may not be the ideal for of nourishment for baby animals, unless short-term and in an emergency situation.
What are your thoughts about breastfeeding animals by humans? Yay or nay? Vote in the poll below.
Republished with permission from: theAsianParent Singapore
