How serious a crime is this?

[Thunderhoof]

I don't have a problem with the castration bit. Done it myself.

The tail cutting and spray painting, though, is unnecessary and says something disturbing about the people doing it. Animals aren't people, obviously, but the good farmers and ranchers I know care about their animals at least to the point of not causing them unnecessary pain.

These people crossed a line and should be held accountable.

 

[Perham1]

The tail cutting.... though, is unnecessary and says something disturbing about the people doing it.

Not exactly.

Pigs can eat each other's tails, and "docking" their tails may help prevent this and the problems that come with it.

 

[Beamwalker]

My god, you people are overreacting so hard. Most of you obviously have no idea how livestock is kept/raised. I want to go through the bullet points on the PETA website one at a time so maybe yall can learn something. But first off, I know how politicized things get so just to tell you where I'm coming from I'm a pretty liberal democrat who also likes to hunt and fish and eat cows and bacon.

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[jcazes]

Great post, Beam. PETA is so screwed up with bias they are incredible. There were some possible instances of cruel/inhumane activity going on at the pig farm, but this video doesn't prove anything. Sure, it was painful to watch, but are there any enjoyable slaughterhouse videos? A giant pig isn't going to prance to the chopping block. A baby pig isn't going to ante up his cahones for removal, then not make any noise. Whether or not there should be anesthesia, I'm not sure, as I don't know how effective it would be (local anesthesia for the snip, but wouldn't they need something for the following weeks? Sounds like it would cost a fortune for the amount of ham/bacon they yield).

I hate seeing ANY animal abused just as much as the next guy, but this video proved very little. OK, the laughing while removing the piglet's manhood was a little insensitive, and I was a little offended, but the woman was simply desensitized by the nature of her job. I don't think I would be able to stand listening to the poor pigs' cries, but then again I feel fortunate to not have to do such a thing to earn my living.

 

[shotgun427]

Beam, I think you are missing the point here. Nobody doubt that the things you covered are the way 'things are done. 'People have a problem with the way 'things are done.'

 

[Perham1]

I don't think Beam misses the point at all.

The complaints (some, not all) by PETA are ignorant. Anesthetic for castrations? Please give us some practical ideas on how to do this, including castrating hundreds of pigs and "pinching" calves or lambs.

And writing "kill" on the backs of swine? Would it make people feel better if perhaps a smiley face were used instead? Or how about just the letter "K"?

 

[shotgun427]

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[RoundhouseKick]

Holy **** was Beamwalker's post disturbing to me. So callous... it only reinforced the abject brutality of the whole business.

I don't want to contribute to/be a part of this cruel process anymore. Condoning such pain and suffering just because we find certain things tasty is immoral and selfish. Also, unnecessary and unhealthy. Vegetarianism it is...I don't eat much meat, but I'm going to go "whole hog," as it were.

 

[Perham1]

The more people become removed from the "cycle of life", which includes how animals are raised, and killed, for our human consumption, the more they are swayed by PETA's fringe opinions (I'm not saying all of their opinions are fringe).

If you want to turn vegetarian, good for you. The planet would be better off if more of us chose that route. But if you're shocked that pigs are castrated in such a fashion (and imo it is not inhumane, even given the fact that pigs aren't human....), or that animals are marked for slaughter, or that tails are docked, or any of the other somewhat common procedures done (or used to be done) on farms, then you haven't taken the time to learn about the food production process (through apathy or ignorance - it's just so much easier to eat the Whopper without thinking about the animal behind it). Then fringe groups like PETA make some claims (some legitimate, some not) and the fervor is aroused.

My approach comes from that of a person on a small farm. We didn't anesthetize pigs before castration - nobody did. Frankly, it's stupid. It takes time and money. Believe it or not, a splash of iodine (or whatever it was) kept infection at bay and the pig was walking around in a matter of seconds. So what kind of anesthetic are you going to use here? A topical isn't enough. Are you going to put the pig under while performing this necessary procedure? So much "city boy" ignorance, all being provoked by the likes of PETA.

We should not abuse animals, and I'm not in favor of the factory farms where pigs, cows, and chickens are crammed into tight, unsanitary cages and pens. We should be aware of our food, and the animals that die to feed us. But, to me, this means we seek out meat that hasn't been filled with antibiotics (to the extent possible), and meat that hasn't existed in a prior life being jammed in with other animals.

PETA's problem, and really the problem is people lacking an awareness of livestock "reality", imo, is when people get upset over a lack of anesthetics for castration or painting an identifier (as if "kill" makes the act of slaughter any worse than, say, the letter "k") on animals next on the hit list.

There have been many books and articles discussing this topic, but cheap food has resulted in us taking food for granted. We waste too much. We eat too much. We don't give one jot or tittle of thought to the animal that gave his life so we could eat him. Some cultures focus on this and it's a good idea. For one thing, it keeps us grounded, so to speak, and connects us with our environment.

But I did get a chuckle from the "if castration can't be done in a humane way it shouldn't be done at all". Yeah, I'm sure you'll like the taste of those pork chops. And paying higher prices.

 

[shotgun427]

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[RoundhouseKick]

Perham, some of your response does make sense. I'd just like to say, however, that the current living and dying conditions of farm animals raised for meat and eggs make a mockery of any idea of the natural "cycle of life."

 

[Perham1]

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[RoundhouseKick]

Well, it's a consumer-driven market, right? Short of going vegetarian, consumers can drive up demand for humanely raised meat/eggs by buying it instead, while conversely decreasing demand for non-humane food.

Obviously it's more expensive to eat free-range, humanely raised meat. I'm lucky that this is an option I can readily afford. For those who cannot, I guess the option for now is eating less or no factory-farmed meat. In other words, cutting down on meat consumption overall. I also contact my reps/senators on issues such as these, though I'm kind of screwed with the reps we have in Texas.

 

[UT Spring Branch]

Well we'd have to be talkin' about one charmin' motherfuckin' pig. I mean he'd have to be ten times more charmin' than that Arnold on Green Acres, you know what I'm sayin'?

 

[Larry T. Spider]

After reading this post and gaining some weight around the holidays, I decided to go vegitarian for a month. Ive probably never gone more than 2 days in a row without eating meat since I was 3yo. I did generally eat healthy meat though. Mostly chicken breast.

Im on day 11 and it hasnt been hard at all. Im never hungry like I thought that I would be. I actually probably eat better now than I did before. I am more creative with my cooking and have tried a lot of new foods that I love.

I probably wont be a vegitarian forever but I probably wont eat near the ammount of meat that I used to. I will probably only eat meat when it is free because the demand has already been created.

My two biggest surprises:

1. This is really EASY. I can still go have a cheese enchilada plate with my friends when we get mexican food, etc. Also, the quality (taste) of the food Im eating is great.

2. People's reaction to hearing that Im not eating meat for a month. You would think that Im on a hunger strike and going to waste away from listening to people talk about the "hell" Im going through. I unsuccessfully try to convince people that its not hard and that Im not "suffering". The reaction that Im hearing leads me to believe that we have a 'meat problem' in this country. The fact that meat is seen as a necessity of life and that going without it is horrendous and unhealthy is more than a little disturbing.