Thursday, September 28, 2006 . 9/28/2006

I have forced myself to watch some videos on what goes on in slaughterhouses. Not like I didn't already know, but viewing specific things only makes my case stronger.

There were a couple that particularly got to me. One of them was of cattle being put into some sort of machine and having their throat slit, all while still alive. They are then practically thrown out of this machine onto a blood-soaked floor. They slip, struggle, and are hoisted up by one hindleg and carried away.

The second was of sows being beaten, prodded, bludgeoned, and having a number of other unnescesary things done to them.

I'd like to know what goes on in the slaughterers' minds while they are doing this. Do they care? The people beating those sows to death quite obviously don't. In fact, they act as if it's all rather funny. They also appear to have severe anger management problems, calling the pigs fowl names, kicking them, etc. The irony of it all is that all the beating is completely unescesary. These people could have easily just shot the animal in the head and ended its life imediatly, but instead they prolong its suffering. I will never get this.

They say that cages aren't cheap, yet these slaughterhouses have all these fancy machines for killing the animals. Wouldn't the animals being raised on a humane farm and killing them in some humane way be much easier? It doesn't make any sense to me at all.

Dairy cows and egg-laying hens don't have it any better. Forget about those commercials that show happy, wellfed animals in green pastures. This simply isn't true. They are treated just as cruely, even worse. The animals are put into cages where they can't turn around, even in pregnancy. For the cows, they are bred until they are no longer able to walk due to loss of muscles, or until the animal is no longer able to reproduce. Their calves are taken away only hours after birth. Hens are the same way, only they are unnaturally forced to lay eggs. After this, they are killed.

Don't let "kosher" labels fool you either. They are every bit as cruel. Not only is it wrong, it is also a cruel lie to religious people.

What amazes me is that animals with diseases, cancer, lameness, and a variety of other things, are still deemed fit for human consumtion. It's disgusting, and it is wrong. In fact, I can guarentee that every piece of cow, pig, or chicken flesh you eat was taken from a diseased or sick animal.

It's unhealthy. Humans were not built to eat meat. In ancient times, animals and even humans were consumed only in the most dire of circumstances. Now, we have gone too far.

Some of you may be thinking, "That was then, this is now". That statement is obvious and proves nothing.

These poor animals are being killed for humans; the least they could do is respect the creatures who are giving up their lives to satisfy our greed, not treat them like a pile of worthless shit.

Some of you may also be thinking, "Well, wild animals kill for food too. Why shouldn't we?". They kill for food because it is nescessary. You won't see a lion eating plants unless it is absolutely famished and has no source of meat, as is the case for many circus animals. Besides this, these carnivors are only acting off of insinct. We as humans can think. Or at least, I thought we could. Perhaps some of us have lost this ability.

Isn't there anything that can be done to outlaw this cruel practice? Of course not everyone is going to give up eating meat even if they are told it is unhealthy, but at the very least the animals at slaughterhouses should be treated humanely. 0 Comments - Post/view comments