Sanctuary

If the next logical step is to provide animals with sanctuary, this would be a departure from reality in most people’s eyes. It’s an entry into the world of idealism – the move away from abattoirs and animal foods, closure of animal farms and the building of sanctuaries for farm animals. This might be an ambitious plan but it wouldn’t happen overnight. It would happen gradually with a drop in meat sales, a consequent reduction in breeding, a retirement plan for ‘working’ animals, leading to an ultimate human/animal relationship based upon non-violent coexistence. The ‘realists’ would consider this goal both unattainable and impractical, and not even open to serious consideration. But the idea must be considered, since veganism is growing rapidly and ‘farm sanctuaries’ are already being set up. Some in USA have been in operation for two decades.
The idea of granting sanctuary to captive animals would be unpopular because it’s costly but also, with collapsing animal industries due to people swapping over to non-animal eating. It’s disturbing to the whole economy. For most people the idea is a non starter and wouldn’t even be considered seriously. But what happens if we refuse to consider it?
It happens that we might continue to support the animal industry with our dollars, whilst voting in leaders who’ll maintain the legality of animal farming, but as individuals, if we follow what everyone else does and follow our leaders, we’ll be caught up in all sorts of polluting and wasteful activities. The result is the destruction of everything we hold dear. By maintaining the status quo we hope we can guarantee some level of personal comfort but we hand on big problems to future generations and of course to the future of exploited animals themselves.
So to turn this around, to think about the future, to think how we can make things right for the animals and for ourselves, we surely have to consider animal sanctuaries. It would probably be expensive to set up enough of them, because there are still so many animals alive who need taking care of, but as the ‘domestic’ animal population decreases by operating a deliberate non-breeding programme, so the expense will become lower. Sanctuaries may be the only way to provide safety for animals, but it presupposes a great input of altruistic energy from the human community.
Those who are not going to be altruistic about this will continue in the same old way, with things getting ever more seriously out of hand, with consumers becoming more exploited themselves and the meat/animal-product industry becoming ever more desperate in their struggle to stay in business. Advertising (misinformation) will tell us to “eat more meat because it’s good for you”.
As soon as people realise it’s all lies the industries should, in theory, collapse more quickly. At present they are holding their own, simply by ever increasing the range and variety of products, to tempt us with new taste sensations along with the false promises of benefits to health and safety. Never is there a mention of the ‘exploitation of animals’. Customers spend their money blindly, without it ever occurring to them what they’re taking part in. Their conscience is soothed by the collective conscience. As one of the perks of being the superior species, it says okay to the killing of animals.