By: Jenna Staples
Whether it’s a dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig, or other, most Americans know the joy and wonder of having a loving pet. Pet owners love their domestic animals to such a degree that even the thought of someone abusing this type of animal is absolutely appalling. I stress this type of animal in regards to domestic animals and common pets because most do not treat all animals with the same care and respect.
Americans of all kind banded together on several forms of social media to protest the horrors of the Yulin Dog Meat Festival, a festival that takes place in China and during the span of one week, somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 dogs are killed for their meat. These same people are oblivious to the fact that in 2014 in America alone, 2.9 billion animals are killed for food. This includes 9,970,000 cows, 2,817,740,000 chickens, and 35,990,000 pigs. Are farm animals really that irrelevant? What is the difference between a cow and a cat, a dog and a pig, or a rabbit and a chicken? Is a dog or cat’s life really worth more than any given farm animal’s?
It isn’t just about how many are killed either. It’s about how these animals are treated. We’ve all heard the phrase “like an animal to the slaughter”, typically used to describe someone in a terrified, frenzied, panic being led to their death. What we forget is that this (and much worse) is a reality for so many real animals. According to a recent CBS News article, the workers at Daisy Farms were described as “apathetic to the conditions and the pain they were causing, jabbing cows with pens and knives, hitting them with ropes to get them to move”. The reality of the situation is that humans do inflict unnecessary pain on animals, all just for big businesses to make more money so the average Joe can get his cheeseburger.
Domestic or wild, factory farmed or in a home, all of these animals are sentient beings. To be sentient is to be able to feel things, including pain. Why, then, do Americans have laws protecting the rights of non-farmed animals while killing billions of animals on farms? It is literally against the law to be neglectful and cruel to animals.
Is having your beak cut off without pain relief not cruel? Is grinding alive and throwing baby chicks in the garbage not neglectful? Is ignoring the fact that 65% of factory farmed pigs have pneumonia and killing and eating them anyways not unhealthy, inhumane, and downright disgusting? Is knowing that dairy cows will not live past their fifth birthday, with a lifespan of usually 15 years, not simply sad? These listed practices are only the tip of the iceberg in the animal agriculture business. The reality of the situation is that if the words “cows”, “pigs”, and “chicks” were replaced with “cat” or “dog”, the country would be in a riot. Again I ask, what makes these animals different?
Also across many forms of social media is a movement to put a stop to animal testing. This includes both testing for cosmetic purposes and medical purposes. The most common animals used in animal testing are rabbits, guinea pigs, cats, and dogs. Because it is this type of animal that is being killed (domesticated/ regular companion animals), average everyday Americans are taking a stand against this abuse.
While yes, this is definitely a win for animal rights as a whole, it brings up an interesting question: if it were farm animals being tested as opposed to domestic animals, would anybody care at all? It’s safe to say that less people care about this type of animal as opposed to their pet animals, so there would be significantly less people against animal testing if it was done on different animals.
Of course, while intelligence shouldn’t matter when deciding whether or not to treat an animal with kindness, some still argue that it does. For argument’s sake, I want to point out that pigs have been proven to be more intelligent than society’s beloved pet dog. Cows are also proven to have great memories and it is a well-known fact that every animal raised and slaughtered for food does feel the immense pain they are put through. Dogs and cats, cows and pigs, they all deserve equal love and respect.
Companion animals are no smarter, no tamer, no more loving than the animals you eat. By only caring for certain species, people contribute to not only the hypocrisy within society, but directly to the torture of these animals.
Are Americans really so obsessed with their slabs of steak and racks of ribs that most of them can’t imagine a life without it? Billions of animals a year die because you think “it tastes good” or that it’s “manly”, “normal”, and overall “my decision”. In your decision to contribute to this disgusting industry, you’re forgetting the one who doesn’t have a choice. You’re forgetting the beaten, bruised, slaughtered cows that go into your hamburger. You’re forgetting the sickly, hormone and steroid infused, miserable pigs that go into your bacon (“But it’s bacon man! You just can’t live without bacon!). Every time you pay for an animal product, your dollars are going straight back into that industry to breed more animals, raise more animals, and kill more animals, all in an unthinkably inhumane way.
The only foolproof way to put an end to the hypocrisy of how society views different animals is to break the cycle completely. Whether it be only contributing less to the animal agriculture industry or fully cutting out all animal products, we can minimise the abuse of such kind, intelligent animals. The less meat and animal-based products we buy, the less money the industry makes and therefore they breed, raise, and kill less animals.
By far the biggest argument against not using animals for food is that they’re a necessary component of a proper diet. It is a common misconception that people who don’t consume animal based protein will be unhealthy, weak, and protein deficient. However most people don’t realize that there are countless sources of protein in plants too. Beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, leafy greens, and other vegetables all have enough protein to sustain the human diet, not to mention they have way more nutrients along with them than you could ever find in a piece of steak. Simply by doing a little bit of research, you can find out for yourself how easy it is to have a cruelty-free diet.
Apart from stopping the use of animals in the food industry, we also need to work on decreasing the amount of animal testing on products and eventually eradicating it completely. By simply doing a little research, it’s not hard to find brands that are cruelty-free and do not partake in said animal testing. By supporting these companies, other companies who do animal testing may choose to find alternatives or go out of business completely. Next time you’re making a purchase, remember to simply think. Think about the treatment of animals you’re paying for. Think about the inhumane treatment and slaughter of those animals. All anyone can ask is for people to just think consciously about where their money really goes.
