But that doesn't mean the treatment of these little 'saviors' has to be inhumane. There are very strict guidelines at research institutions as to how to conduct this research humanely. Things like how many animals per enclosure, the proper way to sacrifice an animal, anesthetic and pain killer use during surgical procedures, all of these are part of what is known as an animal research protocol. All animals are monitored daily by bona fide veterinarians. Investigators are not allowed to conduct research if they fail to follow these guidelines, and they cannot perform procedures unless they are contained in each investigator's animal protocol, a protocol that must receive approval by staff veterinarians prior to its implementation. Any health problem - even so much as weight loss - is reported back to the investigators following daily monitoring by veterinary staff, and action is required to remediate the issue. Things like a tumor burden have a limit; if the tumor reaches the threshold size for that animal species, either you sacrifice the animal (to give you the opportunity to collect tissues for studies) or the staff will. Anything above that size would be deemed too much of a tumor burden for that animal. The welfare of research animals is an important issue in animal research.
Likewise, raising animals for human consumption doesn't mean it can or should be done without ANY regard for the welfare of those animals. Farms, hatcheries, etc should not feel like they have a 'green light' as far as how to treat these animals. Their welfare should be made a priority, and the way in which the animals are handled in their "final hour" should be humane. It should be no different from the human considerations we pet owners carry out when a beloved pet has developed a terminal illness that significantly diminishes its quality of life - it doesn't mean this can't be carried out humanely, inflicting little to no pain if at all possible. Of course it can. I disagree with those that think 'humane sacrificing' of an animal is an oxymoron. It doesn't have to be.
There's probably a lot of farms in the U.S. that follow humane practices. But there have been enough undercover investigations to show that they don't all do. So when you buy a quart of milk, 3 lbs of ground chuck, or a dozen eggs, how do you know whether or not you're giving the inhumane ones continued sustenance, or whether or not those products came from a conscientious, humane operation? How do we know where our food comes from?
When I first watched videos like this one, I was traumatized. YouTube is full of them. As a dog owner and all-around animal lover, I was quite disturbed. You have to wonder the mental state of people that act like what you see here. But furthermore, I had to wonder how much of the meat, dairy, eggs, etc that I've consumed since I was born came from places like this, or if it came from a conscientious place. I don't know, because I don't know where my food comes from.
Warning: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC FOOTAGE
OF ANIMAL ABUSE
This is a short documentary under 12 min long by a group called "Mercy for Animals" titled "Farm to Fridge". You may or may not be able to stomach the whole thing. I did but it was difficult. Towards the end the graphic nature of the footage wasn't the only reason I couldn't see it, eyes flooded with tears. Truly traumatizing.
But just like there's that, there's this. Lisa Ling did a documentary called 'Inside a Slaughterhouse', documenting cleaner, more humane practices in the cattle industry. It serves to give one hope that for every so-many bad slaughterhouses and hatcheries, there are consciencious ones. But what's the ratio - how many good ones? How many bad ones? And how do you know? How do you know that your food comes from a place like the one Lisa Ling documented, or from places like the ones in the video from Mercy for Animals?
Going vegan, like the Mercy for Animals video suggests in the end, is certainly one option. But it's a hardcore one, perhaps deemed "drastic" by some, and one that I'm sure a lot of Americans will not go for. This is too much of a "meat and potatoes" society. Is it possible to buy grass-fed meat, cage-free eggs, etc? Yes. But then you get into issues like the free-range issue pointed out on this CBS News report. So do your homework. Make informed choices. Read labels carefully. Is this stuff pricier? Yes. But the bigger question then is, which price is really the highest.
I wish all chickens had it like these:
There ARE good places out there. The problem is.... how do you know. It's a challenge for sure.
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