Rodrigo Cavalcanti de Azambuja (photo), was born in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro and has lived for many years in the south of the country, in the city of Canelas. He became a Spiritist as a teenager and has always had a passion for animals. He eventually graduated in Veterinary and did a degree in the same area at UFRGS university, specialising in Animal Toxicology.

He is a former president of the Bezerra de Menezes Spiritist Society, in Canela, and the author of Animais e Espiritismo (Animals and Spiritism), which was published last year, as he explains in the following interview.

Tell us first about your involvement with Spiritism from a young age.

My first contact with Spiritism happened when I was in my early teens and found the books by André Luiz, in a small library my father kept in my room. I began attending the public Spiritist talks at the Joana d’Arc Spiritist Centre in the city of Miguel Pereira (Rio de Janeiro state) when I was 16. But I only became a regular volunteer worker after finishing my Veterinary degree and moving to Canela. I started as a librarian there at the Bezerra de Menezes Spiritist Society and eventually became the Society’s president.

Where does your interest for all matter relating to animals come from?

From a very young age, I was always interested in biology and I loved animals and read everything I could about them. For a long time, I kept a salty water fish bowl in my room. I read all I could about the nitrogen cycle, the filtering process etc. When I was still a child, I entered a national competition that would select the three best sentences about the panda bear. The second prize was a dog and I was secretly hoping to come second. That’s what happened and that’s how the unforgettable Hulla, a beautiful female Alsatian, came into my life. Her presence reinforced my determination to pursue my degree and my career as a vet.

What is the main idea behind your latest book, Animais e Espiritismo?

I have published four books – three of them about Spiritist issues. Animais e Espiritismo (Animals and Spiritism) was my second book. I know it doesn’t bring anything new, as many books have already been published covering those issues. But I felt the urge to write about it, with the aim of bringing forward a less passionate view about some issues in that area. In my profession, I have heard many times animal tutors saying that they liked dogs better than people. There is something about that I don’t like. For some people animals seem to be transformed into an escape valve for the problems they have in their interpersonal relations. That’s probably the reason why I saw so many tutors trying to humanise their pets, very often going against nature and against the natural behaviour of those animals. In my book I have also made an effort to express my views (always based on the Spiritist Teachings) on controversial issues, such as euthanasia, vegetarianism etc. I have tried to keep a more balanced approach, stressing that in such a diverse society as the one we live in we need to respect and understand different points of view. The book can be acquired at the EME Publishers.

Is there a particular issue you would like to highlight?

Yes, how important it is for us, humans, to observe the evolution process of animals. When we do that it is like looking back at our own past as a species. It is like looking at the long journey that the intelligent principle had to go through before getting where we are now. Once we understand that, some things become very clear, like the respect we owe to all animals and the need we have to adopt a more ecological approach to our lives. But most of all, it draws our attention the beauty and splendour of nature and all creation around us, which is the result of a long, long time and of much effort and dedication from the Spiritual Benefactors. They have worked so hard so that we could reach our current stage of development. As we rush about in our daily lives, we often forget to stop to admire the beauty of a flower or a bird – in sum, the beauty of creation.

What is your assessment of the progress achieved so far toward the protection of animals?

A great deal has been achieved, indeed, but there is still so much to be done. I personally believe that the protection of animals should be a shared duty between governments and the community. And we have seen progress on both sides. But I still think we lack enough coordination and synergy between the authorities and the civil society. Many people have still failed to understand that it is everyone’s job and duty to protect the animals. If each one of us looked after our dogs and cats with the respect and love they deserve, the matter would be solved naturally. All animals would have a home, reproduction would be controlled and abandoned animals would be an unhappy memory mentioned in the history books.

Taking that into account, what should we do about meat consumption as part of a human diet?

The debate on whether we should be eating meat or not was one of the main motivations I had to write the book. I always noticed a tendency of many to try to put that issue like a thermometer of spiritual development. The books of André Luiz show, however, how many Spirits in areas of Nosso Lar, the astral city above Rio de Janeiro, still rely on food, albeit in a lighter, more spiritual form, for their wellbeing. That happens because their spiritual work keeps them closer and more connected with the Earth. Other areas of Nosso Lar, which deal with more spiritual matters, like the Divine Union Ministry, use love as their source of nourishment. Our spiritual progress will inevitably be followed by ever lighter forms of nourishment. But evolution doesn’t happen suddenly and, as the Spiritist books have taught us, with the current physical constitution we have, the flesh is still fed by the flesh. I have come to the conclusion that as we evolve spiritually, we will certainly abolish the consumption of meat from our diet. That will happen in a nearer or more distant future. Until then, let’s make a concerted effort to move in that direction. But each one of us will need to go at their own pace.