Killing and the thought of it

1707: 

Not many of us would have the nerve to deliberately end the life of an animal unless we were starving. Most, if not all of us, have never known starvation nor are likely to in the immediate future. So what is this mass murdering of animals all about? Why are we condoning something done by others which we could not do for ourselves? Why are we passive proxy killers?

Perhaps most people haven’t really thought about the act of killing an animal. If you don’t actually get to see the act of killing, you don’t have to think about it - perhaps it’s upon that basis that our society indulges in all this slaughter, and very few make any murmur of dissent about it. So, let’s look at the act itself.

         

We see lots of killing on TV but it’s often seen in the form of a drama; a quick bullet fired from a gun and the victim falls down dead - clean and easy. An elderly friend of mine wants to die of a heart attack – “nice and quick”, she says. Killing is bathed in euphemism; we cull the kangaroos, the faithful family dog has to be ‘put to sleep’. If we have to think of death, we like to think of it as a smooth transition. But there are terrible deaths; lingering, painful and frightening experiences. We probably all dread it for ourselves, and are therefore quite capable of empathising with an animal who is facing slaughter.

A condemned prisoner on Death Row would probably think about this a lot. But do animals premeditate their own end? Do they ever realise what fate awaits them? Certainly when the day comes and they are transported to the abattoir, they show signs of great agitation. It’s likely they can smell death which triggers their terror, even if only at the moment when they’re being restrained and positioned for execution.

         

No one gets to see the killing. We live in a sanitised world where such things aren’t even talked about. But recently, the brutal killing of cattle was shown on TV and there was a great public outcry afterwards. This was animal slaughter in its ugliest and most terrifying. It received a lot of publicity. It made a powerful impression on many people. At an Indonesian abattoir, cattle were seen being dragged to the floor, kicking and screaming, to have their throats cut, without pre-stunning! Animals Australia filmed the whole gruesome business and the National ABC TV network televised it on the popular Four Corners current affairs programme. It transpired that this was not an isolated incident but a routine practice involving hundreds of thousands of animals every year. How could anyone not feel for these beautiful Brahmin cattle and not then feel angry on their behalf?

Yet the memory of this fades quickly, and most people continue to eat meat and believe that there is such a thing as humane slaughtering. Whereas there is no such thing; torture is always evil. It's just somewhat worse torture in certain other countries.  Whether our animals are pre-stunned or not, the killing is always ugly. The cruelty shown towards farm animals is always undeserved since the animals are innocent and have no way of understanding what is happening to them. But most people have an over-ride mechanism within them which lets them enjoy eating these animals’ bodies. Perhaps people just can’t think this one through for themselves. The animal behind the meat on the plate is not thought about at all. I doubt if most people are really cold hearted bastards who realise what they're involved with but who couldn’t give a stuff.