Live export & downed animal undercover investigations
Last weeks news about the live export investigation didn’t reach me until tonight. There are lots of links to this article on the Internet. But I hadn’t heard about it on my news station. I’ll include three links, because they add more to the article & video.
Exposed: The long, cruel road to the slaughterhouse
See the campaigners’ video as investigation reveals misery of global trade in animals
Article (with link to video): http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/exposed-the-long-cruel-road-to-the-slaughterhouse-781364.html>
Same with comments http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/13/7030
Care2 gives addresses to some papers that take letters: http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?gpp=16525&pst=1190776&archival=&posts=1Ar
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=10349 includes introduction:
Ten major animal charities investigated the global trade in livestock, documenting the cruelties that live animals endure on journeys that last thousands of miles, from countries like Australia and Brazil to Europe and the Middle East. ìThousands of animals die en route from disease, heat exhaustion, hunger and stress,î reports Emily Dugan for the Independent. Low transportation costs encourage the global trade, with more than 1 billion live animals being transported each week, but the economics of trade do not take into account the animalsí well being, activists contend. Reasons for the long transports vary: Some ethnic or religious customs require special butchering procedures; in other cases, the companies mislead customers who demand locally raised products. The stress, close quarters and lack of sanitation on such journeys not only terrify the animals, but could also endanger human health. Such investigations shock a modern society that focuses on safety, yet deliberately overlooks the less savory details about the source of its food. ñ YaleGlobal
Everyone in the US has probably already heard about the largest beef recall in history. But please visit HSUS’ site to learn more, and find out what you can do — including writing to the USDA: http://www.hsus.org/farm/news/ournews/undercover_investigation.html .
This was added 2/24 — a blurb from this week’s CVA e-newsletter:
Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. voluntarily recalled all of its beef produced since Feb. 1, 2006 (143 million lbs.) after The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) released videotapes on Jan. 30 showing workers at the plant using several abusive techniques, including ramming cattle with forklift blades and using a hose to simulate the feeling of drowning, in order to make ‘downer’ cows stand up and pass a pre-slaughter inspection. To read the full article please visit California Packers Makes Largest US Beef Recall
The extent of cruelty inflicted on these cows is unimaginable for most of us, and clearly shows the callousness of the meat industry in order to squeeze as much profit as possible from God’s animals who are treated as mere commodities. This kind of exploitation will not end until compassionate consumers refuse to support the meat industry. Adopting a plant-based diet certainly is an important and effective way to prevent harm and cruelty to God’s animals.
Episcoveg note: And even if adopting a plant based diet doesn’t end this kind of violence, it at least ends one’s personal complicity.
[Today's post bumped 'Go Vegan for Lent: It's a tradition that we have forgotten, or never heard about' from the home page.]
Tags: Lent