I'm against groups that are against farming. Meat is not "murder," and milk is not "raped" from cows. Make no mistake—animal rights groups don't want us eating only cage-free eggs, they want us eating NO eggs. Most American families are now two generations removed from the farm, and not accustomed to the lifestyle but also ignorant when it comes to livestock.
At the county fair I saw a "bony" dairy cow that even I thought at first looked too thin, but the owner was very helpful and explained how the animal's metabolism worked, and that if the cow was not in optimum health, she would not have award-winning milk production. I walked away feeling a little foolish for a "farm girl" not having known that.
Raising our own laying hens has given me a much better appreciation for chickens than I had before, and I can see why beak trimming (denounced as cruel "de-beaking" by activists) is not only not barbaric but quite beneficial; it helps keep more aggressive hens from viciously attacking the more passive ones. Even though free-range and not caged, the chickens show us daily where the term "pecking order" comes from.
When regulations in place for humane treatment of livestock are violated, it is often the huge "factory" farms under intense pressure to produce volume over quality, at the cheapest cost. However, activists also target the small family farm whose animals receive individual care.
I'm against groups that are against horse slaughter. I don't think it is right to tell my neighbor that it is okay for me to eat of the cow, and the pig, and the chicken, but not okay for him to eat horse. I have no interest in eating a horse steak, but some people do, and that's their business, not mine. I don't think our government should command that Americans are not allowed to eat a specific animal for emotional rather than logical reasons.
I also don't think our government should keep wild-caught horses in long-term holding pens for 10, 15, even 20 years at great expense to all taxpayers. I think these unwanted horses that are passed over by prospective adopters numerous times and unsuitable to return to the wild should be humanely euthanized, without drugs, so that the meat can be used for feeding zoo animals, domestic pets, or even disadvantaged people who are willing to substitute horse burger for beef. It would be better to sell these carcasses to the foreign markets paying a premium for a horse steak, funding the ailing wild horse program for years to come, than to leave the same animals in pens until they die because some special interest has determined that is the only acceptable fate.
I read a petition that insisted we both release the captive wild horses and end mountain lion hunting as well ... showing their belief that a "natural" death, no matter how brutal or prolonged, is preferable to a humane kill inflicted by a human. Incredible.
I'm against groups that are against hunting. Any non-vegetarian anti-hunter is simply a hypocrite. My venison is not any more dead than your poultry or beef. It is silly to determine what is and isn't food based on a "cuteness" factor. I prefer to eat an animal that has grown up in the wild, eating natural foodstuffs, to one that was possibly injected with or fed growth hormones and chemicals... also why I prefer to buy meat locally when I can. You pay more for products from small family farms, but you know what you're getting.
Unlike the Fudd stereotype, most hunters practice year-round so they can make a quick, humane kill. The injured animal that animal rights groups will promote on their posters and campaigns is the rare exception, not the rule. Worse, they have been known to stage such photos—such as a deer with an arrow sticking out of it—to further their cause.
Legislation should not be based on emotion, but on logic and fact.Legislation should not criminalize freedom of choice.
I agree with many viewpoints shared by the animal welfare groups regarding humane treatment of companion animals and livestock. I am not pro-cruelty simply because I am anti-PETA, anti-HSUS and against other groups that share their beliefs. But I will not support these organizations that would take your money on the premise of saving puppies and kittens while using it to lobby our government to take away our neighbors' rights.
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