Animal Emotions
For Vegetarians and Meat-Eaters: The "Calm" Nature of Slaughter
Published June 30, 2009 @ 06:21AM PT
All who insist that killing animals isn't the horrible practice animal advocates know it to be, who insist that the animals remain calm, are unaware of what's about to happen, and go contentedly, obliviously to their deaths need to watch this video that's been circulating in recent days.
It is not graphic--that is, we do not see the animals being shot in the head or their throats slit open or their bodies hung up by one leg. No, what we see (and hear) is perhaps even more devastating. We see an animal alone, trapped, terrified, and looking desperately for an escape from what awaits at the end of the chute. There is no narration. No background music to evoke emotion. Just what really happened, just an honest, unedited look at some of the final moments of one of our fellow thinking, feeling animals who wanted to live.
Once again, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike should pay equal attention. The cows and calves killed for dairy die just as, and have the same heartbreaking fearful experiences as, the animals killed for meat, and they want to live as much as the animals killed for their flesh want to live. Watch through to the end.
A Film That Will Change Hearts and Save Lives--And How You Can Help
Published June 28, 2009 @ 06:12AM PT
Those of us who were moved by the first version of Peaceable Kingdom--including so many of us whose lives were forever and dramatically changed by Peaceable Kingdom--have been anxiously awaiting the new, improved, even more powerful second version. Filmmakers James LaVeck and Jenny Stein have been laboring for years over the project, and much to the excitement of a lot of people, the film is finally finished.
If you're signed up for the Tribe of Heart newsletter and for updates on the film, you know this already, but if not, here are the details (with a preview of the film at the end of the post):
The Love of Louie and Libby
Published June 22, 2009 @ 08:08AM PT
I am not going to suggest that you read this story. I am not going to ask that you read this story. I am going to beg you, plead with you, to read this story shared by Joanna of Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary.
Particularly if you are someone who doubts the depths of emotions animals feel, who doubts the way they love one another and build specific, chosen relationships as we do, who is unsure of how unique each individual is and how deep the bonds between them go, who thinks that they are distinctly different from us--please read this.
We could change little bits in this story, and it would read just like the story of a devoted elderly human couple, a pair of soulmates connected in ways only they can fully understand, in ways that make their lives worth living. It is a story we can all relate to--about love and about the things we do, the sacrifices we make, the care we provide, and the lengths we go to for the ones we love and wish to protect.
But Libby and Louie are not humans. They are chickens. And their story is nothing short of remarkable. It will swell your heart and bring tears to your eyes. It will change the way you think about chickens. It will change the way you think about "chicken"--and eggs, given how hens suffer and die for them, given how Libbie herself suffered so much for them. I hope it will change the way that you eat.
A preview, if you feel you need one:
Farm Animals, on the Plate and in the Lab, and Human Hypocrisy
Published June 11, 2009 @ 02:09PM PT
A few days ago, the Los Angeles Times published an article titled "This Little Piggie Went to the Science Lab." And I owe a hat tip to both Google Search and Doris of About.com (whose differently focused take on this you should also read) for alerting me to it.
The article begins, "Watch out, little white lab mouse. Barnyard animals are gunning for your job." These sorts of remarks don't bother me when they come from animal advocates because I know they're made with sarcasm, with a deep sense of knowing; I myself have made them. When mainstreamers remark with such flippancy, however, I roll my eyes. The mainstream doesn't need any additional reinforcement of the idea that being cruelly experimented on is just a boring job, rather than an existence of confinement and misery, for any of these animals. Preposterous. But let's move on to the really perplexing part, shall we?
A Mother's Loving Protection, A Father's Dedication: A Family Like Any Other
Published May 28, 2009 @ 06:39PM PT
From the Telegraph comes the most heartwarming, beautiful story of the day. And it's a tear-jerker. "Bird brain" is an insult I despise because it implies that birds themselves are unintelligent, unthinking beings when they certainly are not. And this remarkable story tells us that we shouldn't underestimate the size of their hearts either.
Marc Bekoff on Animals, Animal Emotions, Science, and More
Published May 22, 2009 @ 07:50AM PT
I adore Marc Bekoff. He's a brilliant biologist and ethologist, a compassionate and dedicated animal advocate, and a compelling author. I've been moved and educated by his books, and by chance, I was lucky enough to be one of the copyeditors on the wonderful four-volume Encyclopedia of Human-Animal Relationships he edited a few years ago. This video marks the first time I've actually had the chance to see him speak, even via video. Watch.
Animals Are Mothers and Have Mothers Too
Published May 10, 2009 @ 04:30AM PT
It's Mother's Day. The animals people will eat today as they celebrate the women in their life? Those animals had mothers too. Some of those animals were mothers too. Love between mother and young is not unique to humans. The mother-child bond is real and deep and strong in the animals we forcibly separate, abuse, and kill. In particular, today, please think about the cows (and calves) being used and killed for dairy; the pigs being used as birthing machines so that humans can eat their children; the hens being put through hell so that humans can eat their unfertilized eggs and the hens being put through hell as breeders for hatcheries. They are all mothers. And they are being exploited and killed as mothers.
In particular, remember the bellowing and grief of mothers that accompanies not only flesh consumption, but also and especially consumption of dairy--all dairy, conventional, organic, whatever. Remember the frightened, slaughtered babies.
Is any taste worth their suffering? And is there anything more horrible you can do to a mother than tear away her babies, over and over again, while she cries out and looks helplessly on?
Celebrate your mother today, but please do it without contributing to and sanctioning the suffering of so many other mothers. They loved and were loved too. For the love and respect of mothers, go vegan.
Photo above from Farm Sanctuary. Original caption: "A mother cow refuses to leave the side of her dead calf at a California dairy."
