"What's right is right and what's wrong is wrong"...That is a statement of something in this world that you can say for certain will never change. However, it is something that has many facets, something that changes with the person, or topic, or amount of money involved...and as a result you have issues like animal cruelty...which is the specific topic that I am focused on at the moment. I've known for awhile the egregious lifestyle endured by animals which are raised to become food, this includes (off the top of my head) cows, pigs, hogs, chickens and turkeys, but to sit and watch it, uncensored, for an hour and a half is something that I needed to remember the...gruesomeness...Staying aware of the problems in the world is the only way I can ensure I will try and do something about it.Currently, I am watching an HBO documentary: Death on a Factory Farm. It follows "Pete" who is an animal rights investigator hired by the Humane Farming Association. Pete investigates a hog farm in northern Ohio and unearths a disgusting "society", farmers and the like who view these animals as a commodity and as such hold no feelings towards these animals nor reservations on proper treatment. In the documentary we are shown the treatment of pigs (piglets) to hogs (adult). To begin, pigs are the 4th smartest animal, did you know that, right behind dolphins...and above dogs.
So the process starts with pregnant sows, (female hog) which are held in birthing pins, which provide only room for them to stand, no turning or walking or any movement other than shifting around is permitted, with the exception of dropping directly down to try and lay down. After over 100 days of this, when birth is eminent, the sows are moved to another pin, which is slightly larger, so the sow can lie down for the piglets to suckle. But the mother cannot get away from the piglets which causes her nipples to bleed, as well as sores from rubbing against the pin, which often have sharp, jagged and rusted edges. During weening, the piglets are plucked from their mother by their ears or legs and thrown up to 6 feet into a bin, piled several on top of one another. The sow sometimes try to defend their young, stop eating, becoming a "down pig" (which I will discuss later), and even die.If the piglets are "skinnies" or have deformities and as a result are unable to be sold they are euthanized. Euthanization involves picking the piglet up by the legs and slamming their heads against the wall or floor, it is often necessary to do this multiple times. The use of a hammer is sometimes used jokingly.
Down hogs are hogs that have become sick or injured resulting in their inability to stand or walk on their own. These hogs are isolated in a pin especially for down hogs to await death. If the hogs are not cannibalized, they are pulled and kicked off a 4 foot drop to outside where a worker wraps a chain around its neck and another worker raises them with a fork lift and hangs them until they die.
There are so many problems in the world that animal rights get swept under the rug. I agree people are more important than animals. But it seems like such a simple thing to treat these animals with a little more respect. After all, animals were created by God first in the garden of Eden...It really all comes down to money and people are not willing to sacrifice money so that an animal is not tortured.
I just hope we can somehow change this...but I can say, after watching this documentary, bacon doesn't look so good anymore...and...well, maybe I didn't pick the wrong major after all...
