Let us imagine something absurd.
Imagine, animal agriculture would discover that cows
produce more milk if they are blind. The ability to see only distract them and
lowers milk productivity.
They lobbied for a new law and finally starting next month
it will be perfectly legal for the dairy industry to blind all cows. In line
with the admirable animal agriculture's tradition, they will keep costs low, so
no pain killers are used and just a simple cost efficient procedure; a quick
stab in the eyes with a long needle will do the job.
WILL YOU, AN ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST, AN ABOLITIONIST, A
PERSON THAT PROUDLY AND OPENLY CLAIMS TO BE A COMPASSIONATE PERSON, JOIN
EFFORTS TO STOP THIS NEW HIDEOUS LAW?
This might seem an absurd question. But is it? Animal
agriculture already has the most insane cruel practices for farm animals, like,
cutting of genitals without pain killers from baby animals, cutting of the ends
of sensitive beaks, putting animals like pigs, cows, and chickens, in
confinements that are so small they can not move; which is pure physical and
physiological torture for billions of innocent animals.
They would put a needle in a cows eye without a thought,
if they could earn a nickel more. Doubts about that?
Disturbing Reality.
DISTURBINGLY there are quiet a few vegans and people who
claim to fight for animals, who, if we judge them on their past actions, would
not even not join efforts to outlaw such laws, but would ACTIVELY try to
stop efforts that aim to stop these new cruel laws.
I know, that is a long sentence but please stick with me
and the argument. I always think of my blog visitors of people who can handle
more then just a few easy one liners, and have a pre-internet attention span.
Ban On Confinement Crates, Good Or Not.
The last decade there have been huge successes for farm
animals, and thanks to these legal successes billions of farm animals have to
suffer a little bit less. That might mean a little to you, but imagine what it
means for an animal to have just that extra space!!!
I am referring to a series of successful bans on
confinement crates in various states like Arizona, California, and Florida,
thanks to various Propositions that were lobbied by various animal groups like
the HSUS and Farm Sanctuary. I hope you are familiar with this issue.
How was your stance at the time? Should we support “animal
welfare reforms” or not? Seemed to be the question within “the community”.
(which I am not a part of.)
Support Animal Cruelty To Stop Animal Cruelty.
Abolitionist Gary Francione and his abolitionist followers
and some other animal rights activists surprisingly came up with a very
interesting theory.
“If we support animal welfare reforms, we might bring some
minor relief to farm animals, but on the long run, reforms will make omnivore people
think factory farms are humane and be less motivated to go vegan, and thus
factory farms win and farm animals loose.”
Note: the above is not a quote from somebody specific.
Feel free to correct me if I interpreted the logic behind opposing confinement
crates bans wrong. I welcome dissent and wrong views.
For a long time I was inclined to believe that reasoning,
that interesting logic, but recently I did see the fallacy of it. And now I
fully and wholeheartedly support any effort to reduce the cruelty of farm
animals.
I run the risk now of being labeled a “Welfarist” but
according to the inventor of that sly insult to dedicated activists, most other animal rights activists are also nothing but a bunch of “New Welfarists”, so I will
not be alone in New Welfarist City. For the record, I am a long time vegan and
want empty cages, not bigger cages. So keep your shoes on and don’t try to
tango with me on that song.
What is fundamentally wrong with the Don’t Support Welfare
theory?
I don’t know if you notice but you are effectively saying
to the BILLIONS of animals out there like chickens and pigs and cows, that are
now, NOW, at this very moment, subjected to confinement
crates which is one of
the most cruel psychological torture, you are saying:
“you are cramped in a cage and you can’t move at all 24
hours a day, but I will not fight for you. And I will actively oppose
anyone who wants to give you a little bit more space and denigratingly call the
“New Welfarists”. Signed, Your Friend.
PS. It is in your own interest!!”
Reply from battery cage chicken.
“Are you INSANE??? You let me suffer enormous and even willfully
obstruct efforts from other people that would bring improvements (insignificant
to you, but big to me!!) in my miserable life, and you call yourself a compassionate
person? You are WORSE then a factory farmer, because you claim to be
so compassioned, yet you make the most ice cold and uncompassionate
decision of NOT bringing some relief to me, and billions of other oppressed
animals. YOU are helping the factory farmer!”
Your feeble reply might be:
“But try to understand, if I help you, omnivore people
will think you have a nice life, and keep eating you! If I let you suffer,
maybe they will go vegan and so future animal cruelty will be prevented!”
What about this?
1. Bans on confinement crates (welfare laws) bring some real
relief for billions of farm animals. Reality check. Maybe insignificant relief
for you, for the animal ANY relief is greatly appreciated.
2. People won’t go vegan because welfare laws will make
them think meat is humane. An assumption, a theory, a logic from a 5 year old,
but not an unproven fact.
3. You don’t realize you are siding with the factory
farms? They must laugh off their heads about such silly abolitionist.
In short, people who don’t support real improvements in
the lives of farm animals OUT OF FEAR that it might discourage people from
going vegan, and even vocally oppose that, are willing to gamble with the happiness
of billions of animals, and willfully support extreme cruelty. Now you can take THAT to the Abolitionist Bank!
How Does It Work?
It is rather the other way. Fighting for animal welfare
laws (because that is the best that is possible achievable for now, maybe later
laws can be established that outlaw factory farming) not only gives farm
animals a little more space to move around, it also raises a lot of media
attention and awareness amongst ordinary people. Media attention that animal
agriculture HATES.
People will learn about confinement crates, BUT also about
debeaking, castration of baby animals, make chicks being shredded,
environmental damage, waistefull production of food, health problems, etc. New
welfare laws raises awareness and people will not refrain from going vegan, as
is the FEAR of the abolitionists, but ordinary omnivore people will be STIMULATED to go vegan. That is not
my opinion but what I have experienced in my life of three decades of being a
vegan and animal rights activist.
This is not a reasoning of fear, like the Don’t Support
Animal Welfare laws, but a reasoning based on reality and how ordinary people
WILL ditch the meat even if we make factory farms a little less cruel.
Last but not least.
WHY make it so complicated? Keep it simple, from the
heart, because we claim to be COMPASSIONATE, we have to speak from the heart.
We simply have to do our very best to end, or if that is
temporarily not possible, to at least reduce the suffering of animals. That doesn't make one a "New Welfarist". Labels, sigh.
If you are not willing to do that, you are siding with the
animal exploiters. Reality check.
If you have doubts, visit a factory farm and look a pig in
a gestation crate in the eye. You REALLY want to deprive her from space to move
around? I bet you can’t J
REAL VEGANS AND ANIMAL RIGHTS ADVOCATES FULLY SUPPORT
WELFARE LAWS!!! Look past the annoying and misleading labels like “welfare”,
“abolitionist”, “animal rights”, and concentrate on fighting animal cruelty.
Fight animal abuse, don’t fight each other.
SUPPORT FARM SANCTUARY IN PROMOTING NEW LEGISLATURE FOR
FARM ANIMALS.
Farm Sanctuary actively and successfully campaigns to
reduce some of the worst farm practices like confinement of animals by lobbying
for new legislature. Farm Sanctuary is very vocal in expressing that these
minor improvements doesn’t mean factory farming has become acceptable, on the
contrary, factory farming should be abolished. Farm Sanctuary advocates veganism.
must read : JOIN FARM SANCTURARIES efforts reducing animal cruelty for farm animals.
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