The Orion Society, Orion Magazine Letter
Published in the Nov/Dec 2004 issue of Orion Magazine
Dear Editors:
The killing of 19,026 animals per minute can hardly be done humanely (“Crimes Unseen,” July/August 2004). But even if it could be done, should it be?
Since no modern North American needs to consume other animals, attempts to legislate ethical high ground into the matter are in vain.We humans have a tendency to agree amongst ourselves that dominating other animals might be acceptable if done with the proper degree of care. Then we gather together and come up with the rules on just how much care is required, while the industries that own those animals know that our Congress, as the traditional guardian of property rights, will usually decline to require any level of care that substantially interferes with the industry’s bottom line. So what we actually see is an eternal tug-of-war, when we could drop the rope.
Some groups say that progress has been made in reaching humane standards; but those standards only delay the day we come to understand, as Alice Walker once put it, that the animals of the world exist for their own reasons.
Friends of Animals wholeheartedly agrees with the many advocates who, as Dena Jones indicates, “have concluded that the only way to be assured one is not contributing to the suffering of animals is by not eating them.”
Lee Hall
Legal Director,
Friends of Animals
777 Post Road
Darien, Connecticut U.S. 06820
4 Comments
On November 4, 2004, Ellie wrote:
I agree, Lee. We here in North America do not need to eat other animals. That’s why these so called “humane standards”even if they could be enforced cannot justify killing animals. In truth animals are killed because people like the taste of meat, and are accustomed to believing that animals are born to serve our interests, no matter how selfish and unnecessary these interests are.
On November 4, 2004, Virgil Butler wrote:
I can tell you from experience that the lines run so fast that there is no way the workers can keep up and kill animals humanely in these slaughterhouses. I worked for Tyson for over a decade. Although the job description required each of us to be able to hang 26 birds per minute, I often had to do many more than that to make up for the new-hires that couldn’t keep up.
The things I saw during my years there were horrendous. The tapes that PETA and COK got were actually pretty tame compared to some of the things I saw. It’s a brutal job that causes unbelievable amounts of suffering for both the animals and the workers. In fact, must of the suffering is caused by the frustrations of the workers being taken out on the animals. But, some is just for “fun” and is quite sadistic, like blowing up chickens with dry ice bombs and sticking the head of one chicken up the butt of another. There were many, many atrocities like that I saw.
I no longer kill animals, eat them for food, or even wear them. I fight every day to help inform people of EXACTLY how bad these places are through my own site and my Activists Against Factory Farming groups at Yahoo and Care2.
The only way not to condone and support the suffering of these innocent animals is to quit eating them. Period.
On November 5, 2004, Ellie wrote:
Hi Virgil,
I think it’s great that you reflect on those years in the slaughter house, and realize it was wrong, rather than try to make excuses. The bottom line is that animals have a right to not be our resources. So it really wouldn’t matter if they could be “killed with compassion”. And as you’ve illustrated, it’s foolish to imagine “humane” regulations can be enforced, when billions of animals are raised and killed.
I think it’s very important for activists to come to terms with this. If activists don’t stand up for the rights of animals, rather than compromise with the industries, then who else will?
On November 13, 2004, barb sachau wrote:
I agree. It is a matter of education. Someone has to show you how awful it is to eat sentient living beings. You have to be taught.