It is becoming increasingly harder to handle cattle in today’s environment. The last thing we want is to have the press and the activists come down on us. Well, they already have, between ABC News Nightline with Brian Ross and CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.
I am picking up where I left off last time, concerning the correct handling of livestock. It is time we become more aware of what we are doing with our animals, and look to act a little more responsibly. In Europe and other countries it is already illegal to dehorn cattle over 6-8 weeks of age, and at this young age it must be done by a veterinarian with anesthesia. Now, I know what you are thinking, that’s going to incur too much cost.
Well, the cost will have to be passed on. The cost-prohibitiveness of this procedure will not fly for an argument against The Humane Society of the United States or PETA. This is a humane issue, and feelings and beliefs are involved. An argument involving this issue cannot be won with the members of these organizations.
Have any of you looked into these organizations? The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has a multi-million dollar budget. This can be looked up online. The last figures I have heard about are amazing. Do you know how many dollars HSUS spent of their budget with local shelters? Only 0.5 percent of their budget is spent with local shelters on the rescue of animals. The rest is to support their salaries, benefit packages and lobbyists in Washington D.C.
Since they spend all this money lobbying to support their beliefs and pass bills in Washington; I do not want to help them in any way. They are trying to put animal agriculture out of business. The president of HSUS is a vegan. And if you do not know what a vegan is, this is a person that eats only plant products. No milk or cheese or any animal product.
Now, because of the human-animal bond, we have to combat HSUS and PETA with other arguments rather than cost. We can use arguments such as a research experiment that looked at the vegan diet and a diet containing meat in human nutrition. It was found that the diet with meat products gave better health to the people. Their bones were stronger and overall health was better.
Yes, we want to be profitable while producing a cheap food source for our customers, but the same old tactics and procedures just won’t fly in this case.
Dr. Tim O’Neill owns Country Veterinary Clinic in Farmington, Ark.
