Could You Handle the Fact an Animal From Your Backyard is About to be Killed? (Part 2)
May 25th 2008 21:00
Photo by Thomas Voekler. Used in accordance with the terms of Wikimedia Commons’ GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
]It was a Saturday and I was bored out of my mind. I had read all my books (which is unusual for me) and all my friends seemed to be out-of-town or unavailable, including Fred, who I can normally rely on for company when I’m feeling lonely. My sister had also gone away for the weekend so in the end I did what I always do when I am at a loss for something to do: I head to my favourite bookstores. Browsing, I came across a book called Goodbye, friend by Gary Kowalski. As the title suggests, it is a book about dealing with the loss of a pet. I thought this would be an interesting addition to my library of cat books.
Halfway through the book, Kowalski narrates a traumatic childhood experience that Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, who is renowned for her research on death and dying, had been subjected to. As a child, Kubler-Ross had several rabbits which were her pets. One day, her father told her to choose a rabbit to take to the butcher, so it could be slaughtered for dinner. The same thing happened again several months later. And again. Finally, all that was left was Blackie, Kubler-Ross’s favourite. So she decided to set the rabbit free but the rabbit was so attached to her that it refused to leave. In the end, Blackie also met the same fate as the others. In a poignant twist, the butcher said it was a shame to kill Blackie as she was about to deliver a litter of baby rabbits.
One can only imagine how horrifying it would have been for Kubler-Ross to see her beloved pets, now skinned, being cooked and eaten by a callous father.
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Comment by Nathan 1
Film Banana
One thing I would say about this (I am not condoning it whatsoever) is that it might make people see that any form of animal killing is wrong. If it is a pet of yours and you have formed an emotional attachment to it then you have personal reasons for not wanting to see it come to harm. Farmyard animals don't have this benefit and so are discriminated against in terms of their worth as creatures. This butcher story is sick but maybe from the experience Elizabeth became more compassionate towards other animals, realising that the fate of her beloved pet is the fate that millions of animals a year meet.
Comment by Queenie
Quirky Folk
Quirky Queenie
One of my meat eating friends argues that since animals eat one another, it's okay for humans to eat meat, as long as the animals were killed humanely. My vegetarian friends would beg to differ and say as humans we should know better.
Comment by Nathan 1
Film Banana
I don't really think there is a humane way to kill an animal and besides that; when people buy meat they don't go to special places (unless they are Musilim) but just buy meat from a supermarket or butcher that has been 'prepared' in a slaughterhouse.
Cheers
Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
Did you just really say that? We did not become the prime species on the planet by being vegos. I am an animal handler of all types. I adore my horses, but as herbivores, their intelligence has its limits. All prey animals are herbivores and their intelligence reflects this. Carnivores are smarter and the most marked difference I have seen is in birds - having bred parrots my whole life and thinking they are smart I got a mynah bird, and her level of intelligence is astounding. I just said this on another post - I believe if I am going to eat meat I should raise and kill it myself. No I would never eat an animal I had named and loved as a pet,(the above story is just utterly horrific) but I AM a carnivore, more than I am an omnivore.
There is too much evidence to support how much our bodies need meat to deny it. I disagree with the mass slaughter and methods of killing, but this is not a perfect world is it?
That tells me you have never set foot on a farm. Once you get charged by one you might feel better about eating one? The closer you live to animals the more you learn about them. There are very important spiritual reasons for cutting flesh from your diet, but in the long run to function at 100% you need meat.
I apply that statement to humans killing humans and the circle of life that kills us all.
Queenie, your blog is utterly brilliant and I cant believe Ive never visited before.
Comment by Queenie
Quirky Folk
Quirky Queenie
Thanks for visiting!
Comment by Nathan 1
Film Banana
As far as intelligence goes tests have been done and there is no link to an increase or decrease in intelligence being a veggie or not. In fact, because of less physical health problems of a veggie diet compared to an omnivore one (and a veggie diet is better for you) and having more energy, chances are your intelligence will benefit. Albert Einstein was a vegetarian so I doubt veggies are dumber than meat eaters.
All the evidence has already solidly been refuted and we don't NEED meat at all. It has been proven time and time again, that any proteins and what have you that people think need to be gotten from meat can be obtained from a plant based diet. It's like milk. People think they need it to be healthy when actually the opposite is so. We should not be drinking milk past
being a child (our own mother's milk) and we shouldn't be drinking the milk of another species. There is too much protein in it which is not why we need milk (we need it for fatty acids of which cow's milk is very low in). If you think about it, people are getting way too much protein in their diets.anyway.
Obviously a farmer may have days where his cattle are being a bit temperamental, but this is no different for any other creature. Generally cows are docile creatures who stand in a field and eat grass all day causing no harm. Humans are more of a threat to other humans than cows. When was the last time a cow robbed you or beat you up. For the majority of people who eat beef but don't have a cow as a pet there is absolutely no threat.
I apologize if my response is a little bit formal but killing animals is completely unnecessary in our day and age. I hope you will consider a veggie diet and at least look into it as there is masses of information out there to help you out.
Cheers
Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
Surely you must realize that a purely vegetarian diet is not optimum. The perfect diet for a human requires a small perecentage of meat and the majority made up of grains and fruit and vegetables. I agree most people eat too much of it.
And the most important reason not to drink milk is that it contains a hormone that causes cancer. That is a fact, it is the same hormone that causes a calf's cells to divide.
But I encourage you to actually spend some time with animals in their environment if you intend to fight for their rights.