Earth is not our estate — Remember Laika’s final cry

This month marks the 68th anniversary of one of humanity’s most poignant and troubling milestones. On 3 November 1957, a small stray dog from the streets of Moscow became the first living creature to orbit Earth. Her name was Laika, and she travelled aboard the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 on a one-way mission. No technology existed to bring her home.

For decades, the official Soviet account claimed Laika survived for several days and died peacefully. In 2002, scientists involved in the project finally revealed the truth: she died within hours from overheating and extreme stress.

Laika’s brief, lonely death gave the world vital data about the possibility of life in space. In return, an innocent animal paid the ultimate price. More than six decades later, her story remains a haunting symbol of what we are willing to sacrifice in the name of progress, and of the moral blind spots that so often accompany human ambition.

We call ourselves Ashraf-ul-Makhluqaat, “the noblest of creations”. Our record suggests otherwise.

No other species destroys the habitats of others on such an industrial scale while remaining largely indifferent to their hunger, fear, or suffering. In the pursuit of development, we have cleared millions of square kilometres of forest, polluted the air and oceans with plastic and chemicals, and pushed countless species to the brink of extinction or beyond it.

Our treatment of animals extends far beyond habitat loss. Tens of millions of mice, rabbits, monkeys, dogs, and other creatures are used in laboratories worldwide every year, many enduring significant distress in experiments that end only with their death — all justified as necessary for human health and scientific advance.

This same drive has carried our impact beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Laika was the first of many animals sent into space, often at terrible cost, to pave the way for human exploration.

The consequences are no longer theoretical. When forests disappear, when pollinators collapse, when oceans acidify, and the climate spirals out of control, the damage will not spare the species that caused it. The Earth is shared by billions of living beings; it is not the private property of any one person.

Laika, in November 1957, taught the world what true sacrifice can look like — and how readily we demand it from those who cannot consent.

There is still time to choose a different path. Protect and restore forests. Drastically cut pollution. Accelerate the development and adoption of advanced non-animal research methods wherever feasible. Recognise that animals are more than mere resources.

Reflect. Reform. Protect.

Because if we fail to learn the lesson Laika’s short life offered us 68 years ago this month, the noblest of creations may soon discover that we have made our only home unlivable — for every creature, including ourselves.