This is a brief but very real glimpse into the experiences of animals in the various situations in which we exploit them.

The “spent” dairy cow and veal calf at the livestock auction; the fox at the fur farm; the thrashing hooked fish; the monkeys, dogs, and cats in the lab; the elephant at the circus; the pigs and turkeys at the farms; the crated veal calf; the egg-laying hens and chickens raised for flesh; the tied-up dog outside; the chickens, pigs and cows at the slaughterhouse.

Through the decisions you make every day, you’re supporting and even demanding the practices shown. Once upon a time, I didn’t want to know either; I get that. I get that it takes courage to face the truths that  would be easier to ignore.

John Feldmann of Goldfinger, with a personal, informal, unedited introduction (~1 min.)  features the song “Free Me.”  Feldmann wrote  this after encountering a truck of chickens headed for slaughter while on tour.

After watching please pause to remember the scenes, the calf (by product of the dairy industry) at the livestock auction. Remember how clearly the animals shown wanted to live.

None of this is different for the “free-range” animals. There is such a thing as compassionate living. But there is not such a thing as humane animal research or humane animal entertainment. And there is most certainly no such thing as humane animal agriculture or humane killing.

The vast majority of us have choices about what we eat, we make a conscious decision every time we sit down to a meal, do we choose compassion or  can we decide that our simply liking something is worth the massive number of deaths? Is suffering required for us to continue eating  in the ways we think of as convenient? Or can we educate each other and encourage an ethical and healthier way of life.

Source:  STEPHANIE ERNST