The Rural Voice, 1988-03, Page 14,Sor
COMPLETE LINE OF
ANIMAL FEED
— Hog
– Veal
– Dairy
treleaven'
– Beef
– Poultry
– Pet
wed. to wed.
111
treleaven's
feed mill ltd.
box 182, lucknow, ord. NOG 2H0
519.528-3000
1-800-265-3006
12 THE RURAL VOICE
ARK II: DENYING EQUAL
ACCESS TO ANIMAL RIGHTS?
As I hear the arguments of the
ARK II animal rights people I must
confess to some misgivings —
misgivings in that they don't go nearly
far enough. They stop at farm animals
kept behind bars, or at seals on the ice.
ARK II tells us that animals don't
like bars any more than we do. If
that's the case, one might also note
that insects don't enjoy being sprayed
with Raid. Who hasn't observed the
slow, agonizing death of a poisoned
fly? First the creature lifts its feet one
by one, trying to lick the poison off its
Limbs. It shakes to and fm in agony,
and unless it is mercifully swatted it
may take ten minutes to die. Is there
really a difference between a cattle -
beast and a fly? Is small size a justi-
fication for extreme cruelty?
The same sentiment probably
holds true for the fleas on our dog
when they come up against a flea
collar or get zapped with flea powder.
Does what we don't see not matter?
Does our society have no compassion?
The famous humanitarian, Dr.
Albert Schweitzer, reportedly always
watched where he put his feet so as to
avoid crushing crawling creatures. He
would rescue a moth from the flame of
his oil lamp and gently deposit it
outside.
We fumigate our homes to kill
cockroaches and termites. Why not
follow the example of Schweitzer by
setting traps and then transporting the
insects to a remote area?
Come to think of it, farmers treat
their animals a lot more humanely
than society as a whole treats the
"lesser" animals. American author
Peter Singer writes in his book,
Animal Liberation, that "Animals are
treated like machines that convert low-
priced fodder into high-priced flesh ...
Under these methods most animals
lead miserable lives from birth to
slaughter." But the examples of how
we treat small creatures are much
worse than the way farmers feed ani-
mals to produce meat for consumers.
Codes of practice in dealing with
farm animals in the United Kingdom
insist that the beasts should be:
1. Free from malnutrition. This
freedom is a reality on the farm. But
we deny smaller creatures the nour-
ishment they need for survival.
2. Free from thermal or physical
discomfort. Our farm animals live in
air-conditioned comfort, but think of
the poor arctic seals birthing on the
ice. Shouldn't the taxpayer come to
the rescue?
3. Free from injury and disease.
When farm animals get sick, the doc-
tor (veterinary) is called and may ad-
minister medicine. But we routinely,
unthinkingly, give deadly poisons to
creatures that we consider to be pests.
4. Free to express most normal,
sociable patterns of behaviour. What
about the sociable flea colony on our
dog?
The question, of course, is where
we draw the line on humane treatment.
Animal rights extremists insist that we
view farm animals as we would our-
selves in similar circumstances. How
would you like to sleep behind bars as
pigs do? Would you like to live in a
cage as chickens do? Would you like
being milked with a machine?
Of course not! — you can't get
beyond your human perspective.
In short, it makes more sense to
see farm animals from the perspective
of the animals themselves. Would a
pig or chicken be happy living in a
house and following the rules laid
down for people? I have no doubt that
they would all get back behind the
safety of their bars and grunt or cluck
contentedly. And a milking machine
doesn't bump like a live calf does.0
Adrian Vos, from Huron County, has
contributed to The Rural Voice since
its Inception In 1975.