Saturday, January 12, 2019

Challenged On Whether Dairy Cows and Goats Are Tortured


On Facebook, I received a comment that my friend's spouse's relatives were small scale dairy farmers and that they loved their cows like family, and that the business kept people fed in the area.  She challenged that I called dairy farming of cows and/or goats "torture."  This was my response:

I appreciate the concern and how caring your relatives are. However, I have not seen an animal farm business that is humane yet, and I have watched a lot of videos about humane farms. When you see cows in the field, it looks idyllic, and certainly farmers can be nice to cows most of the time. But let's examine what happens on just about every small dairy farm: 


Cows are usually branded. Would branding a human be torture? 

Dairy cows usually have their tails docked - cut partway off, without anesthesia. If we cut off a part of a human - say, a part of a finger, without anesthesia (or even with anesthesia) would that be torture?

Cows usually are disbudded or dehorned, usually without anesthesia. If humans had a part of their bodies burned off, wouldn't that be torture?

How did their cows become pregnant? Were they artificially inseminated? (Most likely) How often? Probably as often as possible after giving birth, so that the cows will be pregnant most of their lives in order to produce milk. Would that be torture for a human? 

What happened to the baby boy calves that were born to these cows who were pregnant over and over? (Usually they either become veal calves, are sold off to become veal calves, or they are shot or hit in the head.) Would that be torture for a human to have her son taken away or killed? 

What happens to the cows when they no longer can reproduce or give enough milk? (They were sent to slaughter or killed by the farmer. Usually sent to slaughter.) Would being taken from the farm and driven to a slaughterhouse to be killed be torture for a human? Would being deceived and killed by your caretaker be torture for a human?

If you still think I am wrong, please let me know why.

I expect not to get a reply, except for an unfriending.  

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