Sep 30, 2009

Double Scoop Videos - Crippled Dairy Cows - Starved Calves

Here's two videos regarding the wretched treatment of dairy cows and calves: The first comes from New Zealand - And the moderator is very concerned because this might hinder the opinion of NZ: "How can New Zealand continue to advertise itself as 100% pure after the dairying boom has created so many factory farms that poison the land and harm animals?" My first instinct is to chuckle at his choice of wording: "pure". Really? Artificial insemination... raping an animal and keeping it as your "slave" - "Pure"? Not hardly. And the other point about the "harm" to animals. Before New Zealand's "factory dairies" --- Didn't they send the unwanted calves and "spent" cows to slaughter? I say being butchered is causing "harm". What about you? The second video was filmed in a Pennsylvania dairy: But animal agriculture will always want to say that these are "isolated" instances... That (most) farmers "love" their animals and always provide the best of "care" to them. Typical representation and denial - here's what Troy Hadrick over at Advocates for Agriculture had to say: "As with most of the videos that are released from animal rights groups, we only see an edited version of the entire story. The only thing we know for sure is that there were some crippled cows at this dairy. How they got they way and how they were handled afterwards is unknown. Hopefully the entire story is available in the near future. What we do know for sure is that the vast overwhelming majority of livestock producers care for their animals. Never before in the history of animal agriculture have we had the tools to provide so much care for our livestock. If the dairy cattle in the video were receiving an inadequate level of care then that situation needs to be resolved immediately." "Edited video"? Sure... and maybe a little cgi? R-ight. This stuff is raw in every sense of the word. "Some crippled cows" - How they got that way is obvious, there whole lives were spent in constant gestation... Their bones and bodies were depleted of every bit of calcium... Their udders were infected from the constant milking machines... Literally sucked dry for human adults to nurse themselves on... "How they were handled afterward?"... I'd bet my house and contents they weren't "cared" for by a vet but rather by a bolt gun. And finally... "If" - "If" the cows were neglected/abused? From the time each was born, has been an eternal condemnation of use and "abuse", made possible by the loving "care" via the common practices of animal industries. I say that even under the *best* of circumstances, the dairy industry stinks... Stealing babies from their mothers just so humans can steal the cow's milk is not anything remotely resembling "care" or "love". Or anything that any "decent" person would wish to contribute to - once the facts are known... You know them know... Please... Go vegan - It's the right thing to do.

2 comments:

Ana said...

The word "if" is a wretched little thing. We have one commenter on our blog who loves to use it. "If" this or that happened...what do you mean "if?" It's right there in pictures.

"If" is a word that enables people to distance themselves from reality and create the illusion that maybe none of this is really happening. It's a cushion.

Bea Elliott said...

Yes, I know what you mean... I know that word "if" and "alleged" will pop up all over the place after the latest calf-murder incident in Vermont. That is "if" they didn't edit the footage of the calves being kicked and slapped. Jeeze!

Thanks for dropping by! :)