Making Things Better for Animals

1812: 

Edited by CJ Tointon

If living conditions for farm animals are made better, it's a plus. Trouble is, by emphasising 'improvement', it lends a respectability to the whole business of keeping animals for food. Or, to put it another way (as my friend CJ says, referring to the recent ACT outlawing of certain intensive farming practices) "the improvements will make the ordinary consumer feel okay about eating meat/eggs because the poor creatures are in better conditions”. CJ fears that this “will only make things WORSE for the animals”.  I agree.

Unless we stand firm about the NON-USE principle, it will be swamped by those who represent the easier-to-implement, compromised position when it comes to animal use. I think we should appeal to the highest and most generous aspect of the human spirit and encourage people to think that it's not enough to merely improve animal welfare - we should have nothing to do with ANY of it! 

What's needed is a new perception of farm animals so our relationship with them can never again be watered down to suit human convenience. Because they are sentient and sensitive, because they run away when attacked, because they develop social groups and care for their offspring (just as humans do) animals should never be objectified. 

They are NOT inanimate. They are distinctly different from carrots. They cannot be regarded as mere commodities any more than humans can. The shift in how we perceive certain animals, e.g. pigs, chickens, fish, cows, sheep, etc.  involves seeing them as irreplaceable, sovereign individuals. Those who are enslaved in captivity with no control over their lives, who are fattened for slaughter or groomed for other forms of food or clothing production, NEED OUR HELP! If animals are to be released from slavery, it will only come about when humans begin to think of them as they might an abused child who needs a permanent safety base.

There are too many people in our present society who will not see animals in this way and who are willing to do almost anything to make a living out of using/abusing them. There needs to be clear priorities regarding animals. Firstly, DON'T EAT THEM. Secondly, help release them into a protected environment where they're no longer 'bred' or 'farmed'. This requires a radical change in the way we perceive animals and this will only come about through human generosity of spirit and empathy.