Animal Cruelty

[captain1976 0]

Sorry for the rant, but this thing has got me pissed.

If you kick a Dog or Cat, you will probably be arrested for animal cruelty. Rightly so, but I have been around for a few years now and just yesterday learned how cattle, pigs and chickens are slaughtered. The cows are the worst and I won’t link anything here but just go to youtube.com and type in slaughterhouse and see what you get. Cows getting their throats ripped out and left to kick around and die a horrible death. Other animals suffer similar fates.

There is such a thing as the Humane Slaughter Act but slaughterhouses simply ignore it.
According to wikipedia, The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is opposed to the Humane Slaughter Act, and violations of the Act carry no penalties. Since stopping the line to re-knock conscious animals causes "down time" and results in fewer profits, the Humane Slaughter Act is usually bypassed and ignored by USDA supervisors.

OK, I understand the lack of credibility with any department of the US Government, but what about the ASPCA? What are they doing to make these atrocities public? How come I never heard of this before? Are they just a typical charity that pays 6 figure salaries to their executives? Must, be; since a simple marketing program would bring this to the publics attention and get this shit stopped.

And how about local government. Why aren’t Police Officers just going in and arresting everyone at the 500+ slaughterhouses in the US and charging everyone involved with a felony?

You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

[NWFlyer 2]

Because we as a society want cheap meat and there are powerful entities at work to protect the status quo.

Go rent the DVD of "Food Inc."

Read "The Omnivore's Dilemma" or "Fast Food Nation" or "The Compassionate Carnivore" or many other books on the topic to learn more. It's a wake-up call that has me changing some of my purchasing habits (though I know there are many more I can change).

(Oh yeah and this was fun in Bonfire but I see it heading to SC real soon)

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[warpedskydiver 0]

Where we get our beef it is not like that at all, no cruelty at all is tolerated.

It is a fairly small meat locker though.

[Andy_Copland 0]

1506849 Big Macs are sold daily. Thats a lot of cows that need put on the chopping block. And i like big macs.

1338

People aint made of nothin' but water and shit.

Until morale improves, the beatings will continue.

[Andy_Copland 0]

Also cows are the biggest producers of green house gases. Fuck those polar bear killing cows.

1338

People aint made of nothin' but water and shit.

Until morale improves, the beatings will continue.

[LongWayToFall 0]

Stop animal on animal crime!

[The_Don 0]

How the hell did you think they were killed?

SLAUGHTER, should have been a clue.

I am NOT being loud.
I'm being enthusiastic!

[captain1976 0]

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How the hell did you think they were killed?

SLAUGHTER, should have been a clue.

Like most people are led to believe, I thought they were shot in the head or at least rendered unconscious, not by having their throats ripped out and left to suffocate to death with a great deal of pain. A big animal takes several minutes to die.

You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

[BillyVance 34]

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How the hell did you think they were killed?

SLAUGHTER, should have been a clue.

Like most people are led to believe, I thought they were shot in the head or at least rendered unconscious, not by having their throats ripped out and left to suffocate to death with a great deal of pain. A big animal takes several minutes to die.

I do remember seeing a program on TV that showed cows being herded into stalls where their heads are put through a hole in the wall, and then a huge saw comes up from below and saws through their necks.

Granted, not as sick as al Zarqawi beheading Daniel Berg in Iraq, but cows are part of our food chain. Chickens don't fare any better.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[Andy_Copland 0]

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Chickens don't fare any better.

Nope, id say they are worse off.

1338

People aint made of nothin' but water and shit.

Until morale improves, the beatings will continue.

[BillyVance 34]

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Chickens don't fare any better.

Nope, id say they are worse off.

I forget, do they get their feathers ripped off alive?

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[ladyskydiver 0]

Ok...this is going to be a fun thread to try and keep out of SC.

A lot of those videos are from the "olden" days. Those plants that the USDA allows to have their stamp on it, do humane slaughter which has standards - and don't get me started on the places that do ritual slaughter for religious reasons as they would probably manage to get your blood to boil worse than it already is. The USDA through the FSIS does plant inspections and any allegations against slaughter houses are investigated and dealt with appropriately. By the way, here's a place to get started on the Humane Slaughter Act instead of Wikipedia. They are trying to get even more enforcement not less. Am I saying that abuse doesn't happen? Not at all. I'm sure it does and is dealt with in the ways allowed by law.

Another thing to keep in mind is that while an animal's head may be severed from it's body, that does not mean that all nervous impulses stop at once. There are still physiological functions happening for quite a few minutes after what most people consider death. It takes awhile for "death" to happen (animals as well as people). And when I say death, I'm talking the no movement at all that most people view as death. There are, also, reasons for animal "parts" to be left attached to the corpse after death - i.e. inspection as there are certain diseases that may not be outwardly visible and only does internal damage that could affect your health (aka the person eating the meat).

LOL - Simple marketing program to stop it? You must have more faith in the human population than I. For as long as there are people alive, there will be animals eaten for food, slaughtered, abused, etc. Not every person nor country feels the same way about animals be it dogs, cats, horses, cows, chickens, etc. For example while the US is my home, I currently live in a country where animals are viewed as animals and are kicked, deliberately hit by vehicles, etc. and it's not viewed as "abnormal" by a lot of people. At the same time, there are people in this country that think of the animals as their pets...not family...but pets. Dogs and cats are left to roam free and get what food and water they can on the streets. Cows, donkeys, and sheep while owned by someone freely wander as well (talk about being fun driving at night trying to avoid hitting a herd of sheep or a couple of cows). And while it is hard for me to deal with at times, it is their culture...their country...and when the wages are such that it is here (some people still have outhouses and live with no electricity), it boils down to cultural, lack of knowledge, and financial issues.

ASPCA does what they can, and so does every other humane society. Reality check - there are not enough dollars, homes, nor people that care to take care of all animals. If you seriously want to do something about the situation, donate your time and money to shelters helping them find homes for animals, adopt an animal from a shelter instead of going to the breeder or pet store to buy your pet, get more inspectors for the food inspection plants, etc. Get involved in ensuring that the politicians in your state are actively keeping an eye on the welfare of animals. And when you decide to donate your time and money to an animal welfare agency, you'll want to investigate that agency as well. Not all agencies have their hands clean - some of them are just as bloody as the ones that do the abusing. Want to help? One way is to stop eating meat. As long as people eat meat, there will be animals that are slaughtered for food. As long as people buy from pet stores, there will be puppy mills. You want tighter controls over the slaughtering houses/puppy mills/etc. - how do you like your taxes?

And, yes, I am in veterinary school and will soon be Dr. Cora, DVM.

[edited to add:] Damn it! I'm in SC. GRRR!!!

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[jcd11235 0]

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1506849 Big Macs are sold daily. Thats a lot of cows that need put on the chopping block. And i like big macs.

I thought that Big Mac beef came from dairy cows that die of old age.

Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

[captain1976 0]

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.

regarding;
“and don't get me started on the places that do ritual slaughter for religious reasons as they would probably manage to get your blood to boil worse than it already is”

You must be referring to the Jewish Kosher method of slaughter, which is quite barbaric and no better than the slaughterhouses I spoke about.

“Simple marketing program to stop it?”

Yes, being in marketing most of my life I find no difficulties making the public aware of such atrocities, especially with the billions these so-called animal welfare groups take in.

“ASPCA does what they can, and so does every other humane society“

Well, a little research shows the following salaries for this organization:

ASPCA 2007 Reported income for
Sayres (President): $490,315
Stephen Zawistowski (Exec VP Programs: $242,354
Stephen Musso (Exec VP Ops): $252,018
Jonelle Sullivan (SVP Develop/Comms): $202,194
Stephen Eudene (SVP Finance): $201,456

An that Humane Society of the United States has been deemed a fraud and a criminal organization.

The only thing I want to donate my time to is to make the public aware of these slaughterhouse atrocities.

You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

[Belgian_Draft 0]

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Sorry for the rant, but this thing has got me pissed.

If you kick a Dog or Cat, you will probably be arrested for animal cruelty. Rightly so, but I have been around for a few years now and just yesterday learned how cattle, pigs and chickens are slaughtered. The cows are the worst and I won’t link anything here but just go to youtube.com and type in slaughterhouse and see what you get. Cows getting their throats ripped out and left to kick around and die a horrible death. Other animals suffer similar fates.

There is such a thing as the Humane Slaughter Act but slaughterhouses simply ignore it.
According to wikipedia, The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is opposed to the Humane Slaughter Act, and violations of the Act carry no penalties. Since stopping the line to re-knock conscious animals causes "down time" and results in fewer profits, the Humane Slaughter Act is usually bypassed and ignored by USDA supervisors.

OK, I understand the lack of credibility with any department of the US Government, but what about the ASPCA? What are they doing to make these atrocities public? How come I never heard of this before? Are they just a typical charity that pays 6 figure salaries to their executives? Must, be; since a simple marketing program would bring this to the publics attention and get this shit stopped.

And how about local government. Why aren’t Police Officers just going in and arresting everyone at the 500+ slaughterhouses in the US and charging everyone involved with a felony?

Before believing propaganda posted by some vegan on a mission, make a visit to or talk to someone who works at a slaughterhouse. The reality is quite different from what PETA would have you believe.

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[TiaDanger 0]

This is exactly the reason why I am a vegetarian, and will be for the rest of my life. I refuse to financially support the U.S. meat industry for this reason. (And, because not eating meat makes my body feel effing fantastic). If people had half a clue what was going on behind slaughterhouse doors, they would be utterly shocked. I agree with the OP in that there needs to be a MUCH more proactive push on getting this information out to the public.

Also, just because your beef or eggs say 'Free range or cage free', that does NOT necessarily mean their living conditions are better than caged animals. Most 'cage free' poultry are packed in so tight on concrete floors that they cannot spread their wings.

I AM NOT on a vegetarian rant, but I do hope that people really understand what is going in meat industries. And, if you continue to eat meat, you support farms that are ecologically and ethically conscious.

And for the record: the appropriate ranking of cool modes of transportation is jet pack, hover board, transporter, Batmobile, and THEN giant ant.
D.S. #8.8

[rhys 0]

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I thought that Big Mac beef came from dairy cows that die of old age.

Old age is probably not likely for any commercial dairy cow that is not grazed on grass in a spacious relatively clean envoronment with sunshine and fresh water.

Only a very small percentage of cows will have such good living conditions.

I bet other complications such as weak bones and disease are higher on the list than old age!

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[rhys 0]

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Because we as a society want cheap meat and there are powerful entities at work to protect the status quo.

This cannot be reiteated enouh on many levels in many subjects.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[The_Don 0]

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How the hell did you think they were killed?

SLAUGHTER, should have been a clue.

Like most people are led to believe, I thought they were shot in the head or at least rendered unconscious, not by having their throats ripped out and left to suffocate to death with a great deal of pain. A big animal takes several minutes to die.

How old are you? Come on! Are you REALLY that clueless?

I am NOT being loud.
I'm being enthusiastic!

[JohnRich 4]

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Why aren’t Police Officers just going in and arresting everyone at the 500+ slaughterhouses in the US and charging everyone involved with a felony?

Because it's not their jurisdiction, and everyone inside isn't guilty.

You're letting your emotion override your reason.

[Belgian_Draft 0]

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I thought that Big Mac beef came from dairy cows that die of old age.

Old age is probably not likely for any commercial dairy cow that is not grazed on grass in a spacious relatively clean envoronment with sunshine and fresh water.

Only a very small percentage of cows will have such good living conditions.

I bet other complications such as weak bones and disease are higher on the list than old age!

Not very familiar with the operation of a dairy farm, are ye? A cow that produces even below average quantities of milk is treated much better than most humans. Dairy cattle are VERY valuable. It is not unusal for a single dairy cow to be insured for more than you probably make in a year.

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[rhys 0]

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Not very familiar with the operation of a dairy farm, are ye? A cow that produces even below average quantities of milk is treated much better than most humans.

I don't know how you live your life over there but I don't usually stand around covered in my own faecies and I have never seen a cow living a luxurious (by human standards) lifestyle.

You are painting 'far side' type picture here.

[sarcasm]What is the average salary for these illusive, 'middle classed' cows?[/sarcasm]

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Dairy cattle are VERY valuable. It is not unusal for a single dairy cow to be insured for more than you probably make in a year.

How much money an animal produces or inssured for does not necessarily correlate with its living conditions.

Dairy farms in New Zealand (And i'm sure in the greener states of the USA) Graze their cattle on grass, and they live a relativly nice lifestyles, and migrate to the milking sheds on thier own accord each day at the same time...

When I was in the California over summer (lodi) however, I was applaled at the living conditions in the various cattle farms we flew over each load to altitude.

The water is fowl, they have no green grass to eat and they spend thier entire lives walking in faeces, and breathing toxic and concentrated fumes from being so closely confined.

Yep what a life to live, I'd trade anyday

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[billvon 3,008]

> A cow that produces even below average quantities of milk is treated
> much better than most humans.

Uh, no, they're not. Have you ever been injected against your will with anything to increase your output? Made to stand in your own shit because it's easier that way? Ever seen a co-worker killed because he stopped producing for a few months?

>Dairy cattle are VERY valuable. It is not unusal for a single dairy cow to be
>insured for more than you probably make in a year.

Of course. And that has absolutely nothing to do with how well or how poorly they are treated. They are treated in a manner to maximize their output; if that means cutting off their tails to reduce the odds of contaminating the milk by 1%, then goodbye tails.

[shropshire 0]

Also, if you REALLY want to be pissed off about how some people treat animals very very badly .. please search for Calderon dolphins - Denmark and see what passes for fun for these bastards

F**kers

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[captain1976 0]

Before believing propaganda posted by some vegan on a mission, make a visit to or talk to someone who works at a slaughterhouse. The reality is quite different from what PETA would have you believe.