Kindess To Animals And Anti-Animal Cruelty

I was raised in a family that for decades have treated animals with respect. My grandfather's grandfather was Chief of Police in one of my local towns. Back then you could beat the shit out of someone who broke the law. But there wasn't animal cruelty laws as we know it today, if there was, they weren't usually enforced. He saw a man whipping his horse brutally (back in then horses were still a form of transportation) and he walked over to him and POW! right in the kisser. When he regained consciousness he scolded the gentleman and said "don't you ever do that to your horse again". Over the years, my family would nurture any animal they found astray- turtles, birds, rabbits, cats, dogs, crayfish (yes they need love too), fish, anything. We even kept a few as pets for years and they became part of the family. My cat started hanging around my property out of nowhere and I adopted him. I didn't have to. I could have left him to starve. But my upbringing taught me to love all creatures. I do eat meat I shall admit. But like many progressive farmers, I believe the life of an animal should be respected and the events leading up to the slaughter should be peaceful. The death should be swift, painless, and humane. But I will admit that vegetarianism and alternative eating lifestyles should be investigated, but left up to the individual. We can't keep growing cattle forever. It isn't cost effective both in its impact on our resources and our environment. That's why the bulk of my diet is seafood. But on the matter of animal cruelty, I am not as far on the issue as PETA. But I do believe that cruelty to animals, on an individual level (which is typically most heinous) and the corporate level is wrong. I'm not saying that mice shouldn't be tested if it leads to the curing of disease, but using them for cosmology? Do we really value lipstick and shampoo over a living creature? And as for dogfighting (which is really popular in my area, thanks to Michael Vick- he taught young men it's okay to hurt animals and if you play football, you can come out with limited consequences), it's sick. I think society should readdress how we treat our fellow creatures.

I come from a farming family, mostly dairy. My grandfather took great pride in keeping healthy and well cared for livestock. My grandmother used to tease she always had 300 women in the barn to compete with for his affection. The cows stayed healthier and produced more quality milk and meat when well cared for. They are also safer to handle when they don't associate you with something bad happening to them. I never had to go chase them to get them to come to the milking barn when I helped. They saw one of us come up to the gate every 12 hours and just went where they were supposed to for the most part. They knew they were getting washed, fed, and milked, and often petted by kids. It is never a bad idea to treat life with dignity and respect, even if it is your food.

I whole-heartedly agree. But with humanity unable to consistently treat each other with respect, securing rights for creatures we view as "less than Human" is ice skating up hill. But humanity has surprised before so who knows...