The Business of Killing Animals

WARNING! CLICKING ON THE MERCY FOR ANIMALS LINK WILL TAKE YOU TO A MERCY FOR ANIMALS WEBSITE THAT HAS THE UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION VIDEO – MY INTENTION WAS TO PUT IT ON THERE SO YOU CAN FIND THE VIDEO – I DID NOT REALIZE THAT THE VIDEO IS ON AUTO PLAY AND STARTS AS SOON AS YOU CLICK ON THE SITE.  THE VIDEO IS HORRIFIC AND GRAPHIC. VIEWER DISCRETION IS NOT ONLY ADVISED, IT IS ALSO HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I know that there will be a lot of discussion on other blogs and websites about the Mercy for Animals undercover investigation on an Ohio Dairy Farm, so I’m not going to beat the same drum- if you know what I mean.  But I need to address it.

First, I’m going to admit right here and right now that I did not watch the video.  I have seen enough violence from humans that I can imagine (after reading about the video elsewhere) what occurred.  Hell, even Erik Markus from vegan.com could only make it through the first 20 seconds of it, and he’s watched every one he’s ever posted.  So you know what?  I’ll just take other people (like Bernard Rollin) at their word when they say that it is probably “the most gratuitous, sustained, sadistic animal abuse” ever seen.

The sad fact is, it’s not uncommon.  Not only that, it’s subsidized by the government (US).  In fact, Conklin Dairy Farms received subsidy payments totaling $35,282– of which $27,666 is due to dairy subsidies.

The outrage to this video is what you would expect it to be, but here’s the thing- is it really that outrageous that the people who are in the business of killing might abuse animals?  Any farm that is used for animal production hires people to kill animals- regardless if the animals are shipped elsewhere first or they are processed on the farm, they are still killed for profit.  We give these folks a license to kill sentient beings under the guise of “human need/want/desire,” then become surprised to find out that they might have abused the animals before killing them.  I, for one, am not shocked- not totally anyway.

There have been many studies done showing a connection between violence towards animals and violence towards humans.  I’ve mentioned it before but, “…Up to two-thirds of those who commit animal cruelty also commit at least one other criminal offense, including drug trafficking, assault, rape, theft and homicide. Most troubling of all is the strong connection between violence toward women and children and animal abuse.”

So in some twisted way, it almost makes sense that the workers in these death factories lean towards the violent.  And let me clarify that for the people waiting to jump down my throat saying how Dairy Farmers Care for their Animals, I am not suggesting that every single person working in the animal industry is violent- surely that isn’t the case.  But I will say this, I question how non-violent you can be if you kill a non-human simply because you want to use their skin for a new handbag or shoes (or clothing, or furniture,  or food).

Remember how I am obsessed with an ex-vegan?  I knew that he would have something to say on the matter, and I was right.  Let Them Eat Meat had this to say (emphasis is my own):

Conklin Dairy Farms is clearly awful, but that doesn’t mean no one should ever eat cheese again. If anything, this video shows the ludicrousness of vegan arguments that equate all animal use with sadistic torture. This video contains actual sadism — it is the gratuitous violence and not the mere fact of animal use that is upsetting here.

If the abuse documented in this video is an argument against dairy, it’s also just as compelling an argument against humans and animals ever interacting. These workers tortured cows for fun, not to get milk out of them, which is possible any time a cruel human and a relatively defenseless animal are in a room together. If this video means we should stop eating dairy, it also means no one should own pets, since dogs and cats might be tortured too (and pet owners are even less regulated than dairy farmers).

Obviously, again, we disagree.  Violence breeds violence– whether you try to justify it by putting it on your plate or not.

And, of course, the Agribusiness folks have taken the opportunity to turn this into an attack against vegans.  Chuck over at AGWired, a website for the industry, had this to say about the video (again, emphasis is my own):

This is a heads up in case you haven’t heard about it. Yesterday the Associated Press published a story about a video that was allegedly taken undercover at an Ohio dairy farm by the group Mercy For Animals. It is a shocking and disturbing video and whoever is actually involved should be put in jail for a very long time. If you click through and watch the video be warned. It’s graphic and bad.

Regardless of who is responsible for the violent acts in the video this will be used by animal rights activists to tarnish the image of good dairy farmers everywhere. This is a group of militant vegans with an agenda so it is good to question their credibility and motivation.

Shocking.  Disturbing.  Be warned.  Graphic.  Bad.  Regardless of who is Responsible for the violent acts.

You know what Chuck?  At least we can agree on that.  Regardless of who is responsible for the violent acts, it is shocking, disturbing, graphic, and bad so- be warned.  Question my credibility and motivation, as a vegan, as to why I would encourage the dissemination of the video.  I’ll say it over and over again, so  you won’t even have to guess-

Non-humans are not property.  They are not a commodity.  Non-humans are not property.  They are not a commodity. Non-humans are not property.  They are not a commodity. Non-humans are not property.  They are not a commodity.

Compassion, that’s my motivation.