relief of animal agriculture disasters

[Guest guest]

I think animal protection organizations that step in to prop up

systems of animal agriculture in disaster situations need to think

through what they are doing and determine if it is consonant with the

mission for which they were originally organized. If they are

strictly welfarist organizations that believe that humans have a

right to subjugate, enslave, consume etc. animals as long as their

treatment meets minimal humane standards, then there would not

necessarily be a philosophical conflict with vaccinating and

de-worming animals for the benefit of livestock farmers, but it

seems to me that there is still a question about the use of funds for

such purposes, because animal protection organizations get their

funding from donors who intend it to be used to protect animals and

not to protect livestock industries. I am not against doing things

to make life easier for beasts of burden or to improve living

conditions for animals being raised for meat or skins, and I am

definitely not opposed to doing things that ease the pain and

suffering of animals who are to be killed for food or furs or

whatever, but I think that supporting livestock farmers so that they

can continue their exploitation of animals without experiencing a

financial loss due to these natural disasters is not necessarily in

the best interests of animals.

 

If you go into a disaster situation and save the lives of livestock

animals, is what you are doing really a net gain for these animals?

Eventually they will be slaughtered, probably under conditions that

create extreme suffering, and most of them are not fed or watered for

a certain period of time leading up to their deaths because it would

be viewed as a waste of money or time to provide them with food or

drink that would not be transformed into whatever commodity they are

being killed to produce.

 

At a conference in the US in 2007, a WSPA rep from Latin America

showed slides of a rescue of cattle who were at risk of drowning.

The person seated next to me asked me if drowning was any worse a

death for a cow than being hung up or knocked down and having her

throat cut, and I had to admit that drowning didn't seem so bad.

 

There is a dilemma in this, because on the one hand one wants to

relieve any and all suffering, but on the other hand one does not

want to simply defer the inevitable agony of these animals for the

benefit of those who will profit by keeping them alive until it is

more profitable to kill them.

 

Kim Bartlett

 

 

 

><aapn >

> " Weintraub " <weintraub

>

>4 - 6 vets with cattle and or poultry experience are urgently

>required to work with the Ministry of Agriculture Veterinary

>Department in Myanmar for 4 weeks during July.

>

>The team are required to work in disaster affected areas

>administering triage, co-ordinating preventative health care

>measures through vaccination and de-worming.

>

>Must be Asian nationals due to Visa restrictions.

>

>If you meet this criteria and would like to take part in this

>Emergency Disaster Response project please contact the WVS Head

>Office as soon as possible.

>

>Worldwide Veterinary Service <<info%40wvs.org.uk>info

>

>