Pregnancy at Slaughter: What Happens to the Calves? Part 3 (Graphic)
Published August 22, 2009 @ 07:47AM PT
I didn't intend for there to be a third part to the posts I wrote a couple months ago about what happens to pregnant dairy cows--and the calves they're carrying--when the industry is done with them (see also part 1 and part 2). But then in recent days, this video surfaced. And of all the horrible, horrifying videos I have seen over the years, this has to be one of the absolute worst.
Notice in the background that the mother cow is still periodically kicking while bleeding out, as the calf who was brutally cut from her womb and laid out on the floor just feet away struggles and cries out for his mother. Notice how their blood--so much blood--pools together after his throat is slit too, as they die horrific deaths together, both mother and baby helpless witness to the other's suffering and violent death. For dairy.
It doesn't matter if this particular video wasn't shot in your own country of residence. The unspeakable cruelties such as these do not know borders. They happen everywhere.
This (and this and this) is dairy milk. And milk chocolate. And dairy cheese. And dairy ice cream. This horror, my friends, is dairy:
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Photo of pregnant cow on front page by Flickr user Jed Sheehan.
Photo of calves on conveyor belt courtesy Viva!
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For Vegetarians and Meat-Eaters: The "Calm" Nature of Slaughter
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Pregnancy at Slaughter: What Happens to the Calves? Part 2
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Pregnancy at Slaughter: What Happens to the Calves? Part 1
Comments (48)
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Author
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Stephanie is an independent animal rights advocate, a vegan, a tree-hugging environmentalist, and a freelance editor and writer. She lives in St. Louis with an aging corgi-lab and an adolescent rescued pit bull.
Thank you for posting this! I know so many people who refuse to give up dairy, thinking that going vegetarian is enough. I forwarded this link to them. The video cuts to the core. I don't understand how any thinking, feeling human being can watch that and still eat meat and dairy. This video needs to be spread far and wide!
Posted by Kristi H on 08/22/2009 @ 09:08AM PT
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SICK SICK SICK.
HOW CAN SOMEONE DO THIS?!!!
THOSE POOR ... poor animals.
my heart breaks for them....
i'm really considering becoming vegetarian.
i don't eat cow meat as it is.. but anyways...
theres no justification for this.
God bless those cows hearts and I hope they go somewhre nice when they die and have endless fields of green grass and warm sunshine.
Posted by emily aklsjdf; on 08/22/2009 @ 09:11AM PT
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I'm glad you're considering making a change, Emily. I know these things can be difficult to watch and come to terms with. There are links on the "Go Vegan" action someone started here at Change.org that can help you get started on the change, on the move away from the suffering and slaughter inherent to meat, dairy, and egg production: http://animalrights.change.org/actions/view/go_vegan_2
Best of luck, and please speak up if you ever need advice or have any questions or even if you just need moral support.
Posted by Stephanie Ernst on 08/22/2009 @ 09:25AM PT
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"HOW CAN SOMEONE DO THIS?!!!"
I believe part of the answer is that horrific processes such as this have become institutionalized. Throughout animal agriculture, in which mothers, fathers, and babies are killed (over 100 million a day worldwide) people become hardened to the pain and suffering of animals and just "do their job."
Posted by Gary Loewenthal on 08/22/2009 @ 09:23AM PT
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That ripped my heart out. I am a vegan and watched all of Earthlings.org but this really shows the lack of empathy in humans. At least animals kill because it is necessary for survival. Man kills for profit and greed.
Posted by Elle Simpson on 09/06/2009 @ 09:32AM PT
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I have to admit that I am a fan of really bad horror movies, so I've watched a lot of gore and nastiness. But I've NEVER seen anything like this. I was physically ill after watching this. The thing about movies is that they are creations of someone's admittedly sick and twisted mind. This is real - too real. I am already a vegetarian and don't buy leather. I guess it's time to consider becoming a vegan.
Posted by Jenny Snyder on 08/22/2009 @ 10:09AM PT
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Jenny, I've been having a bad weekend, and I want you to know that you, Emily, and a few other people who've commented today on this post and elsewhere have heartened me. I am so glad that you're already trying to live and eat compassionately and that now you're considering taking this next important step too. Consider yourself virtually hugged--and please, please, please feel free to use this community and site as a resource, whether to answer questions you may have, to give you helpful links (such as the ones here:http://animalrights.change.org/actions/view/go_vegan_2), or just to serve as moral support.
Posted by Stephanie Ernst on 08/22/2009 @ 01:55PM PT
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Go for it Jenny, I became vegan 3 years ago, best choice I ever made : )
Posted by Avril Sims on 08/24/2009 @ 03:01PM PT
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Maybe you can (actually for the animals, you must) rebuild/heal yourself with ancient methods of yoga, spiritual music, and laughter with friends and our letters of support.
This is how you will keep making a difference for the animals. Stay happy (as much as possible in this $%^$^ world) and healthy (idem) to be able to fight for their rights.
Let's focus and keep our eyes on the prize: abolition of cruelty toward god's good creatures.
Posted by Jade Golden on 08/28/2009 @ 03:43PM PT
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I want to scream. I can't really say much right now but I will be linking to this on facebook, people do not deserve to live in ignorance.
THANK YOU for contantly braving these difficult videos and covering such awful topics, you are speaking for the BILLIONS of animals who cannot.
Veganism is the only answer.
Posted by The Voracious Vegan . on 08/22/2009 @ 11:54AM PT
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I am very aware of the horrors of the meat and dairy industry, and the atrocities of the food industry in general. I have also struggled a great deal with illness and weakness as a result of my political determination. I have gone back to eating dairy, but with a lot of conscious thought and effort. It is not easy eating animal products responsibly, but it is possible and I would really love to see more effort put into that information. I would like to see some videos of the happy dairy cows out there, the small family farms that keep their milk whole and healthy. There aren't a lot I know, but the more attention they get, the more the practice will spread. I've seen so many of the horrific videos, and the guilt and pain I feel after those is traumatic, appropriately so, but I feel that we should give credit where credit is due, stop condemning all dairy products and understand that good dairy is a possibility almost anywhere you are. An article on responsible consumer efforts surrounding meat and dairy would also be appreciated, the information is out there. Understanding and actually participating in farming practices is really eye-opening, I want to encourage the responsible farmer's dialogue in all of this. I fully admit my lack of experience, but want to share the strength of my belief in the small family farms that have helped me re-build my strength and health, and encourage those voices that I have come to rely on over the last couple years.
Posted by Emunah Selah on 08/22/2009 @ 12:50PM PT
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Hi, Emunah. "Good dairy" from the perspective of the cows isn't possible unless we're talking about a calf drinking it from his or her mother--and humans staying out of it entirely. There won't be an "article on responsible consumer efforts surrounding meat and dairy" on this blog because this blog is for the *animals.* So there won't be any posts advocating or condoning exploiting and killing them, on the large scale or small, not when the vast majority of the population does not need animal products to be healthy, and when exploitation and killing are a choice.
I don't know if you've read other posts related to dairy on this blog, Emunah, but "humane" dairy is even less possible than "humane" meat. Even so-called small family farms manipulate cows' reproduction, keep them perpetually pregnant, remove and kill the calves after birth, and eventually kill the cows too. That's inherent to all dairy. If people didn't artificially inseminate the cows, they wouldn't produce milk. If people didn't take the newborn calves away and kill them (and turn them into veal), the calves would drink the the milk that people selfishly want--but do not need. And farms, including these small farms that you believe produce "good dairy," must send the cows to slaughter at a fraction of their natural life span--when they're barely adults--after their milk production slows, because it's not profitable to keep them alive and provide for them. Calves and cows are cruelly separated and slaughtered for dairy. There's no way around it.
Obviously, I don't know your personal health and dietary situation, but if you really are committed to a humane diet and have struggled to stay healthy on one, I'd recommend consulting with a nutritionist--but not just any nutritionist. There are nutritionists with good information on staying healthy on a vegan diet, but there are also plenty who are clueless. I'd be glad to put you in touch with a vegan dietitian if you'd be interested.
Posted by Stephanie Ernst on 08/22/2009 @ 01:49PM PT
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I love how you can stay calm and rationalise things Stephanie, I couldn't, sorry to say.
I was told by a doctor 5 years ago that because of my Fibromyalgia and CFS I needed to eat red meat 4 times a week. I have been vegetarian for well over a year now and I am doing fine, so long as I stay active to a degree. I have alot of vegan tendancies though,(not just with food) my margerine is vegan and I use Oat milk on my cereal, we all know there are alot of alternatives out there for v/v's in the food department, so to Emunah I say, take note of what Stephanie is saying, see a nutritionist who can point you in the right direction.
There are plenty of recipe's that can be made to give you all, and more, of the dietry goodness you obviously need in your diet to help you along with your illness. The worst thing to eat is meat, of any kind,(not to mention dairy) as there are alot of un-natural things in it that actually make us worse, (besides the fact of killing innocents animals of course). Our bodies need natural foods, and animals are not one of them.
Regards
Posted by Faith Angel on 08/23/2009 @ 11:08PM PT
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Many people want to "believe" in the small family farms, thinking that they do all the right things for the animals in their care. In truth, they have to watch the bottom line as closely as a large factory operation, and the animals are ultimately slaughtered for meat and leather just as they are in a factory farm.
I've been vegan for 8 years and I admit I did it first for my health, not necessarily for the animals' sake. I wanted to be able to breathe clearly, since I live in New York City and the Twin Towers had just been blown up. Soot was raining out of the sky and you could smell the PCBs up as far as 125th street. I quit dairy so I would be producing less mucus—but I never looked back.
I wasn't able to watch this video; I've watched Earthlings, and I've seen a lot of slaughter videos. I just don't want to ruin my night; I get bombarded by this stuff all the time on Facebook (hi, Avril!) and I'm well aware that just when you think you've seen the worst of it, something else comes along.
But the main thing I want to say is: nobody "needs" dairy products; many people say meat and dairy make them feel healthier, and that may be because they don't know how to get their nutrients from plant sources. I'm with Stephanie: a vegan nutritionist can point you in the right direction. I've been vegan 8 years, and I'm going back to giving platelets regularly; my big struggle has been keeping my hemoglobin high enough—but clearly it can be done. Welcome aboard; we need you on our team.
Posted by Fallopia Tuba on 09/09/2009 @ 05:08PM PT
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This is NOT RIGHT!!! This has to stop!! I am sooooo ashamed to be a human! God what is happening to people?? God Help Us! My heart is just breaking.....
Posted by Kathy Jackson on 08/22/2009 @ 02:54PM PT
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I know every one here is talking about how gory the video is and how their hearts are breaking, but I just can't get myself to watch this. I am not going to either. I gave up eating meat 8 months ago, and I am going to make this positive change even with dairy products. I really would like more information regarding this, as well as about what active measures can be taken to stop this absolutel horrifying practice. I work for a small NGO, in Pune, India, called ResQ Charitable Trust. We work for stray animals in the city. Basically functioning as a paramedic service for the strays in our city. We have come across some gruelling cruelties in our field too, and with every such case that comes to us, we get stronger and fight harder. But we clearly are being biased by ignoring all the other atrocities that are being carried out. I still haven't seen the video and perhaps I never will. But I vow to take this cause seriously and keep it close to my heart. Thanks a lot Stephanie.
Posted by Shweta Shahade on 08/22/2009 @ 04:26PM PT
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Thank you, so very much, for this note, Shweta. If you never see the video, no one will fault you. Sometimes we need to subject ourselves to these things to help catapult/motivate us into changes, but I can certainly understand not wanting to put yourself through the trauma of seeing it if you're already prepared to remove yourself from it without the graphic images.
As for what can be done to stop incidents such as these, I really don't believe these kinds of cruelties will ever cease as long as we think of and treat animals as our food and food suppliers, as things, as our property to do with what we please. Cows (pregnant or not), calves, pigs, chickens, goats, and many other animals will continue to suffer at slaughterhouses as long as these places exist, and as long as people are funding them. As for the calves specifically, born (i.e., veal) and unborn (i.e., those whose mothers are slaughtered), who end up in the slaugherhouses, that certainly won't stop as long as there is demand for dairy.
And as for help giving up those dairy products, there are a few links at this member's action that can lead you to general online vegan starter guides (though they say "vegetarian," they're vegan guides):http://animalrights.change.org/actions/view/go_vegan_2. And there are also lots of books & cookbooks out there on the subject, ranging from very basic, no-frills books with solid information and easy recipes (such as some of those put out by the Vegetarian Resource Group, http://www.vrg.org/catalog/index.htm) to cookbooks full of complicated gourmet vegan recipes. You can check out the Books & Media sections of some online vegan stores such as Cosmo's (http://tinyurl.com/ndeykc) and Pangea (http://veganstore.com/books-and-videos.html) to get an idea of what's available.
Finally, thank you, Shweta, not only for opening your heart to farmed animals and reevaluating what you eat, but also for your remarkable work on behalf of your city's stray animals--that's really fantastic. I imagine it must be gut-wrenching, heartbreaking work at times, and it takes real dedication and compassion to immerse yourself in it nevertheless. Kudos to you.
Posted by Stephanie Ernst on 08/22/2009 @ 05:00PM PT
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Thanks for posting, Stephanie. I don't think I can watch it, but the next time someone asks me why I'm vegan and "what's wrong with dairy," I can send them this. So much death and pain, for no reason at all. My husband is doing a 3-week vegan challenge next month, and I may show him this.
Posted by Shannon Davis on 08/22/2009 @ 05:10PM PT
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the killing of any unborn is heinous, even if the mother wants the unborn being dead. that is why i'm pro-life and vegan... i cannot reconcile ahimsa with the destruction of unborn life of any kind.
peace <3
Posted by catherine burt on 08/22/2009 @ 08:02PM PT
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This is so very pathetic, look as though cruelty plays such a sad roll, it’s just like pushing garbage bags down an assembly line…Theses are / or were lives. And at that not taken by choice! This not a video I can or even attempted to watch, no purpose when torture and mass cruelty is involved. I love all animals and it is so devastating to me my heart is broken... I have to say the only thing that gives me a since of being is the statement and what lies behind “An Eye for an Eye!!!!! It all comes around.
Posted by Nan Bongiovanni on 08/23/2009 @ 06:36AM PT
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I just want to say that I posted this on my facebook page, and one of my "friends" commented about it by saying this...."it's only a cow" .....that is the type of ignorance that makes my blood boil! How can people say that?? Where is the compassion?
I gave up eating meat, and milk...and I already feel better!
Posted by Kathy Jackson on 08/23/2009 @ 02:10PM PT
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I posted it on Facebook too, and one of my friends responded with half a dozen cow-themed jokes. I told him that his defense mechanism was showing.
Posted by Shannon Davis on 08/24/2009 @ 05:07AM PT
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It's sad to see the IGNORANT world we live in Shannon....we are surrounded by heartless, cruel and very ignorant people.
I am praying that will change someday soon.....but until then, evil walks among us....
Posted by Kathy Jackson on 08/24/2009 @ 09:10AM PT
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I also can't bring myself to watch it. But the second paragraph says enough. I also posted a link to this post on my Facebook page, and quoted the second paragraph for the sake of those who wonder "what's wrong with dairy" (or what's wrong with me), but who might not click on the link(s).
Posted by Sue G. on 08/23/2009 @ 07:54PM PT
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I can't watch... but on my road to vegetarianism I watched a few horrific videos that catapulted me into the decision. As I made my way toward veganism, I forced myself to go through the video/photo/article process again.
When people say "I could never give up dairy" I don't give up. People are naturally compassionate, they just need a chance to let that emotion flow, a safe forum in which to do it. I try to approach fledgling veg*ns with compassion not criticism - encouraging the positives, reminding them of the animals, and keeping the end result in mind.
Keep the shocking videos coming. People are paying attention.
Posted by Lisa Smolen on 08/23/2009 @ 07:58PM PT
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I havent eaten 'red meat' in over 25yrs however, until this video (that i can't even bare to imagine watching) i have eaten diary. I never considered the horrific pain and suffering required from millions of innocent cows to quinch my desire for cheese, icecream and milk. I can honestly say that after seeing the picture and reading the description under it, I will never consume cheese, icecream or milk again. Prior to this i consumed ~1/4gal of milk/day. Not anymore!! I've spent 10yrs rescuing dogs, puppies, cats and kittens, now it's time for me to do what i can to help the cows in a non-direct kinda way. Thankyou for exposing this horror!
Posted by Rhea Aker on 08/24/2009 @ 11:51AM PT
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I too will be adding this to my facebook profile and pray that it touches someone's soul enough to encourage them in the same way.
Stephanie - Thank you for all you do for God's Innocents!
Posted by Rhea Aker on 08/24/2009 @ 11:53AM PT
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http://www.canimsin.net/haberler/bursam-et-hayvan-katliami.html
Please leave your comments on the article link above.
Please send your emails:
The mayor of Bursa :
recep.altepe@bursa.bel.tr
and also to :
ercan.ozel@bursa.bel.tr
nur.cakir@bursa.bel.tr
seyfettin.avsar@bursa.bel.tr
Posted by Avril Sims on 08/24/2009 @ 02:57PM PT
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see above comment .
Sorry forgot to add this slaughter took place in Bursa Turkey .
Posted by Avril Sims on 08/24/2009 @ 02:59PM PT
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On this occasion I toughened up and did watch. Perhaps it's because my trigger event occurred the moment I understood the dark side of dairy...
These hoodlums obviously took great delight in the scene... smoking, singing and laughing. And it makes me terribly angry at the culture which has raised these kinds of unfeeling monsters.
Parents and society are responsible for bringing up fully formed humans. It needs to get over the idea that we actually have emotions and that they are the best part within us. We need to nurture young men to be in touch with what compassion exists in each of us...
Goodness knows what these guys had to do later to "forget" what they were accomplices to... Accepting this as the "norm" will only poison society, and enrage those who wish to champion against it.
Posted by Bea Elliott on 08/24/2009 @ 03:14PM PT
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Humanity of man towards animals is just, in my mind, despicable. Vegan is the most important you can do if you want to help animals. They don't deserve to be treated like this... :( And they don't deserve to be treated like they 'belong' to us.
Posted by Lisa Blundell on 08/25/2009 @ 07:17AM PT
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I don't want to watch the video because I'll cry for days and and will not be able to do anything it happened after watching a chinese fur farm video.
but I will share it on fb, I never knew this happened I thought that once they can't give milk anymore they are kept somewhere till they get old and die.
I am SO Sorry I ever drank Milk but what can I give my cats instead
Posted by Roxanne De Livera on 08/27/2009 @ 02:16AM PT
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I can't stop crying after watching this video. I love animals but I do eat meat and consume dairy products everyday and right now I feel very ashamed!
No wonder why the world is in such a bad state! Human don't deserve to live in this earth!
Posted by Anissa Flynn on 09/01/2009 @ 01:28PM PT
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Hi Anissa... You know what this website is named "Change".org - So you could say you "did" eat meat and "did" consume dairy/eggs.
Don't hate yourself - We were all raised with this blindfold. The industry and culture has us all indoctrinated very young, so we don't even know to look or question where/how practices are done. None of it is your fault... But the guilt would be in doing nothing about it. :(
There are tons of websites with information about healthy vegan living, and lots of tasty recipes too. I'm only a year and a half in and I feel great!
And yes, it's sad that humans do what we do... But we also have the great capacity to feel empathy for others and the voice to educate people about a better way.
Don't feel ashamed... go vegan instead. :)
Posted by Bea Elliott on 09/01/2009 @ 02:58PM PT
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I couldn't finish watching this video! I am ashamed at what we do. This poor animal was just lying there so docile while the idiots were smoking and laughing. I wonder how they would feel if they were strung up by their legs, and castrated.
Posted by Richard Oakley on 09/04/2009 @ 11:00AM PT
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We need this kind of information on the news where millions of people can see it. Unfortunately, some stations are afraid of airing anything unpleasant that might upset people. Well, people SHOULD be upset at our treatment of animals. They should not be protected so that they can go on being ignorant and not have to change their behavior.
Barbaric treatment of animals is especially repugnant because people are so afraid of having pain themselves but are willing to inflict it on innocent animals.
Posted by Marcia Mueller on 09/07/2009 @ 02:38PM PT
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If all were fine, this would not be hidden behind closed CAFO's. Get it out there, spread the word. Humanity is no longer humane if this treatment continues with citizen awareness.
"To close your eyes will not ease another's pain." ~ Chinese Proverb
Posted by Jade Golden on 09/07/2009 @ 02:48PM PT
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I agree, awareness is very important and people just don't know about it and don't even believe it's possible! But it is :'(
Posted by Anissa Flynn on 09/08/2009 @ 08:26AM PT
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It has taken me hours to stop sobbing. I've watched what I thought were the most horrible of slaughter videos, until this one. I work from home, and I'm sure my neighbors heard my anguished screams and cries of NOOOO and I'm so sorry baby over and over.
Because of physical disabilities, my only "weapon" in this war on the animal holocaust we humans have created are my words. I write poetry and small articles to post on my MySpace site to try to enlight others. As Sir Paul McCartney has said, if slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would become vegan. I try to be those "glass walls" whenever and wherever I can.
Humans have become so immune to how their meat or dairy got into those pretty little packages. They stick their heads in the sand and figure that what they don't know won't hurt them. Nevermind how much it hurts the animals in that process. Unless and until people are educated to the complete reality of this horror, it will continue.
The latest ploys by the meat/dairy industry to label everything "humane" is the biggest crime yet. They know people are becoming enlightened, so they have maneuvered this "humane" myth into their labeling, making the human consumer feel all warm and fuzzy inside, thinking "hey I'm eating humane meat/drinking humane dairy/eating humane eggs". They picture those happy little cows on Old MacDonald's farm, grazing in the grass, frollicking with their calves and it's all okay for them. Not on that label is the fact that slaughter is cruel and there is nothing humane about slaughter whatsoever. But, clearly it's working since sales are increasing. "Cage free" is just as cruel, if not more so than battery cages.
That pregnant cow is still going to have that precious life inside of her die an excrutiating death. Anyone who has been a mother knows that maternal instinct that kicks in the moment you know there is a life growing inside you. After these poor cows have endured having baby after baby ripped away from her at birth, while she cried and grieved for his/her loss, the worst horror of all awaits her at the slaughterhouse.
This video will haunt me to my dying day. Hearing that baby's cries, having his/her first sight be that of his mother hanging and eviscerated while he/she cries and cries. Desperate gasps for air and then the knife comes. His/her tiny and desperately short life nothing but terror and agony. What kind of monsters have humans become?
There are days like today when I feel so helpless, so powerless to make the changes I so desperately want to live long enough to see, and know that I won't. I literally have to keep reminding myself that at least for me, no animal suffered or died. If one more person can be convinced to embrace a compassionate diet, then that's one more, and hopefully there will be multitudes one day who will finally make their voices heard in ways that will end this nightmare once and for all.
Posted by Bonnie Snider on 09/08/2009 @ 06:32AM PT
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I feel helpess too and it's very frustrating and upsetting! I too, couldn't stop myself from crying and kept saying "Why" and "No"! And it's even more frustrating when you see that meat and dairy are EVERYWHERE!
Posted by Anissa Flynn on 09/08/2009 @ 08:31AM PT
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DEATH IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE PEOPLE WHO DO THIS! THEY MUST DIE A SLOW AND EQUALLY HORRIBLE DEATH!
Posted by joyce waldie on 09/08/2009 @ 08:07AM PT
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I couldn't agree more!! They are just monsters and do not deserve any respect whatsoever!! Easy to go from an animal to a human, no wonder there are so many crimes arround us!
Posted by Anissa Flynn on 09/08/2009 @ 08:27AM PT
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The most horrifying thought that I have is that this poor calf is better off dead than alive with the life of agony, cruelty, and fear that awaited this innocent baby creature before his mom was even born. All farm animals in CAFO's are condemned from a 100 generations in advance if we can not step up our outcry at these abuses. We need to bring about transparency to this abomination called "farming".
Posted by Jade Golden on 09/08/2009 @ 12:26PM PT
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PLEASE FORWARD THIS VIDEO TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW! I have sent this video to all my friends and family, as well as numerous online forums and social networking sites. I even sent this video to a grass roots animal rights group in China! Several members e-mailed me that this video made them quit dairy for good. The most powerful tool we have is this video--we must inform the world! This has to stop!
By the way, does anyone know where this video was shot? I wonder if any disciplinary action has been taken (although I highly doubt it)?
Posted by Kristi H on 09/08/2009 @ 02:05PM PT
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I uploaded this video to youtube - It was removed within 24 hours for "violations"... That's very skewed. We can pay to have this horrific act done millions of times over, BUT if you try to expose it you're the meanie. Strange. I uploaded to FB guess I'll try Google too... And I agree, these are images no decent person could ever remove from memory. :(
Posted by Bea Elliott on 09/10/2009 @ 03:54PM PT
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I got to admit I eat meat.. In Sweden..The ''slaughter'' is not performed this way.. But slaughter is still inhumane..
I consider going vegan / vegetarian.. But when I watch these sort of clips, I feel really bad inside, knowing that in this clip, is not just a extreme case, but that its a normal routine for those people who do this.. They just.. Cut the baby out..And throw it away like it would be a piece of paper u throw in the paper bin..
However, I also admit that this action doesnt occur everwhere.. Or..Well, what do I know eh ? Im only 15. But I think its time we change the world.
Posted by Isak Sandberg on 10/02/2009 @ 10:43AM PT
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Isak, this does occur everywhere. In order to produce milk, a cow must have a baby. They don't just have milk all the time. It's like a human, the milk forms during the pregnancy. The dairy farmers keep the cows pregnant every single year and then literally take that baby away from its mother within hours of it being born, so that humans can have the milk that was supposed to be for that baby. The mother cow grieves for her lost baby, sometimes for weeks or months.
Almost 25% of cows slaughtered are pregnant at the time. Slaughterhouses are full of discarded fetuses, some like the one in this video who were ready to be born. Some die because they suffocate to death while their mother is being bled out. The workers can see the baby kicking inside of the cow as she goes "down the line" at slaughter to have her legs hacked off, and then she is gutted, with the calf usually being considered just a wasteful byproduct. Others are cut out of their mothers while still alive, just as this video shows. Either way, it DOES happen at every slaughterhouse around the globe.
You are 15 and in the generation that is our future. You are in a position where you CAN make changes for the world. Every single voice joined together with other voices becomes loud and heard by even more people. It's really encouraging to see that you are educating yourself to the horrors that are going on behind the closed doors of the slaughterhouses. What you do with that information can make a real difference. You can choose to just keep it to yourself, or you can choose to tell others about it.
Even if you just start out slowly, like a lot of people do, by taking meat out of your diet for just one day a week, and then two days, then three, etc. You don't have to just decide overnight to become vegan. That's how I convinced my husband to try, and now he's very much a vegetarian, and working towards being a vegan like me. Ease into it. But make compassionate choices. Try soy or rice milk instead of cow's milk. Trust me, it's absolutely yummy. Do the same with cheese and ice cream.....use the soy or the rice or coconut milk substitutes. The vegetarian burgers and fake chicken patties/breasts are delicious! Short ribs made from tempe or tofu are scrumptious. Taking baby steps can eventually become your lifelong marathon of compassionate eating. As you do that and your friends see it, they can join with you as well. Before you know it, you will have made HUGE changes for the world.
Good luck! Check out other posts here at Change.org. There are wonderful resources to help you in this life's journey. It sounds like you truly care. I hope you will take that caring attitude into the future, and help to make the world a better place for future generations of both humans and animals.
Posted by Bonnie Snider on 10/03/2009 @ 03:49PM PT
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Hello Isak, Thank you for having the compassion (and sense) at 15 that most adults don't have their entire lives. It speaks well of the kind of person you are going to become.
Bonnie speaks the truth that this is a common occurrence in the dairy industries. Although the number of 25% was higher than I imagined. The act would be unspeakable even if it were one baby... And the saddest thing is that we humans don't need one single drop of the milk that should have gone to sustain his/her precious life.
I agree that there are wonderful alternatives - tasty, healthy foods, and other products which requires none of this bloodshed.
Good wishes to you on your journey of compassionate living. :)
Posted by Bea Elliott on 10/04/2009 @ 05:52AM PT
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