I read a shocking news report not long ago. A Quebec woodsman on a Jet Ski tried to kidnap a bear cub swimming across a river.

Its mother and sibling were already on the other side, and this cub was slow in making it across. Grabbing it by the scruff of the neck, the man on the Jet Ski was attempting to capture it to take it back home as a pet.

The bear cub broke free eight times by clawing at him, only to be grabbed again. To wear out the cub, the woodsman started running over it with the Jet Ski, forcing the cub's head under water.

The 55-year-old woodsman got his best grip by holding the cub upside down by a hind leg. He then dunked it again and again under water in a cruel attempt to drain the cub's energy. The cub was now moaning, desperately trying to breathe.

Eventually wildlife officers turned up and captured the bear to release it as an orphan in another part of the forest. It's feared the cub will not survive on its own.

Letters to the editor published in the newspaper were peppered with such words and phrases as "disgusting," "outrage," "upset," "no sane explanation for his behavior" and "too bad we can't dunk the man by his hind leg-maybe he would learn to treat animals with respect." For the woodsman's part, he said that if given a chance, he'd do it again.

Is it man's destiny to ride roughshod over animals? In today's world, greed and superstition are two powerful forces more important than the welfare of animals. Consider, for example, Africa and Asia .

Sometime in the late 1970s half the white rhinoceros population of Uganda suddenly disappeared. Only two were left in the country and the last was shot, probably by poachers.

To be fair, it might be hard to blame genuinely poverty-stricken, hungry people in Uganda if they shoot animals for needed cash or food. But after Idi Amin's reign of terror, tens of thousands of weapons were available and gangs today are often better armed than the rangers who guard park reserves.

Poachers mostly go for ivory, but if they come across a rhino they'll shoot it as well. But they only take the horn, leaving the carcass to rot.

In northern Tanzania poachers have wiped out 90 percent of the rhinos in the past 10 years. It's reported that the greatest demand for rhino horn is South Africa , especially in mutu shops of Johannesburg and Pretoria .

Mutu is a Zulu word for "medicine," and in these shops an array of herbal and animal products-including rhino-are sold. Zulus buy a little powdered rhino horn mixed with dried lice, which they swallow to treat jaundice.

But rhino hide sells more than the horn. Zulus sometimes burn a piece of the hide inside their homes believing the vapors will drive away evil spirits. They also eat a bit of rhino hide to stop a nosebleed or ill effects from snakebite.

North Yemen is a large illegal importer of rhino horn. More than 80 percent of Yemeni men wear daggers called jambiyya, and the best handles are made from rhino horn. This market has increased the value of rhino horn 15-fold-leading to the deaths of thousands of animals.

Probably the oddest medicinal superstition for the rhino product is the practice of zookeepers in Rangoon , Burma , who collect the urine of a baby rhino which they drink as a cure for sore throats and to ward off asthma attacks. The Calcutta Zoo earned $750 in just one year from the sale of an old rhino's urine. At least in these cases the animal isn't killed.

But is this man's destiny, practicing medicinal cures through the slaughter of game animals?

God is a compassionate God. His nature is one of mercy and kindness. We are to become like Him in our attitude and character. His conversation with Jonah showed He cared for animals, too, when debating the destruction Nineveh , which had many thousands of people "and much livestock" (Jonah 4:11 ). Scripture tells us that God cares for the birds and plants of the field (Matthew 6:25 -30).

This, then, is a great God who cares for the entire physical environment-chief of which are human beings made in His image. When He created the first man, He gave human beings responsibility over His creation, placing Adam in Eden "to tend and keep it" (Genesis 2:15 ). Man was given a responsibility to rule over the creation, but that rulership must be in wisdom, love, justice and mercy, reflecting the mind and attitude of God Himself.

After all, this life is a training ground for our ultimate destiny. Read our booklet What Is Your Destiny- it's one greater than that of animals. And it's one that requires humans to exercise love and compassion to all living things.