The Canadian Seal Slaughter

[Aquatic Eagle]

Who would film chickens being boiled alive? Now that would be sick, in a very perverted way.

Apparently people have gotten into some of these processing plants and filmed these things for the sake of exposing it. They also filmed workers grabbing live chickens by the feet and throwing them against the wall and stomping and jumping on them. Maybe you have seen the recent news of sick cows being pushed around with forklifts. I guess you would call it animal rights espionage?

 

[Diver Dennis]

Again, I didn't understand the context.

 

[fisherdvm]

I never claimed that you said chickens are boiled alive. I just pointed out that it happens. But the confinement is NOT the only point I have correct. Check out Youtube and you'll find plenty of footage of chickens boiled alive and animals forcefed. Please don't say that I am incorrect if you haven't checked it out for yourself.

If it happens, does it make slaughterhouse responsible? You've lost me again. Wikipedia and Youtube are not quite documentary material. But am I suppose to check your references?

Just because you see an animal being abuse on youtube, you would automatically blame the slaughterhouse and the farmers? I have heard of such term as "loose association" and "flight of ideas". But never expected it on the internet forum.

 

[fisherdvm]

Apparently people have gotten into some of these processing plants and filmed these things for the sake of exposing it. They also filmed workers grabbing live chickens by the feet and throwing them against the wall and stomping and jumping on them. Maybe you have seen the recent news of sick cows being pushed around with forklifts. I guess you would call it animal rights espionage?

The animal industry employs thousands of workers. Just because a few teachers molest children, it does mean that schools are havens for child molester. In the same way, just because a few priest molest children, we don't go and slap a priest in the face.

Fallen cows are called downer cows. They weight 1000 to 1200 lbs each, and I do not know an easy way to lift them Certainly, skid steer and fork lifts have smooth surfaces that can get these cows extra lift. Occasionally, you'd be lucky, and they will stand once the boost is given. As cruel as it might seem to the unfamiliar with the device, a cattle prod can save a life of a downer cow. A sudden pain can cause a downer cow to give an extra effort to stand. If she doesn't, she will often become semi paralyzed from compression of her sciatic nerve. I would not pass judgement on the judicious use of a fork lift, a skid steer, or a cattle prod to nudge a downer cow into standing up.

As I understand, with the concern of "mad cow disease", slaughter houses are to condemn and discard all downer cows and cattle. Such an event should not happen if they followed rules. I can understand if a slaughterhouse employee saw a beef steer slips and fall, and can't get up - it is likely a musculoskeletal injury and not "mad cow disease". I can also understand why they want to quickly encourage such animal to stand up, because the more time they are down, the less likely they'll be able to stand. Perhaps that is why you saw the fork lift being used. The USDA is going to have to clarify this position on mad cow disease, so that slaughterhouses will simply destroy such animals.

On the point of the workers abusing chickens - sick people work with children, and sick people work with animals. Just because it happened, does not mean slaughterhouses encourages such behavior. If you consume meat, then perhaps you should become a vegetarian, or work in these plants, and you'd realize that most slaughterhouse employees are your average low income immigrant doing menial dirty work that us wealthy americans wouldn't.

On the point of whether a chicken might be boiled alive - I think it very much is possible. Human are not involved in much of the early slaughtering process, except hooking the chiken's leg onto the conveyer belt. It is very possible that if a chicken did not have normal anatomy, or if somehow the machine was improperly set - that the cut on the neck might not be adequate. My guess is that it is quite a small number... But it would be sad if it did happen. I don't think anyone would do it on purpose for the joy of watching chickens being plucked alive.

 

[Tigerman]

Boohoo, they kill seals with means more humane than your deer hunting and omg, the white snow and ice actually let it show that when you kill and drain something for blood, guess what, it bleed!

The seals is not endangered, killing baby seals is illegal and the hakapik is considered more humane than shooting them are. Whats the problem?
Oh, yeah.. Go watch some videos of cuddly polar bears eating seal and see if that look humane...

 

[wardric]

Boohoo, they kill seals with means more humane than your deer hunting and omg, the white snow and ice actually let it show that when you kill and drain something for blood, guess what, it bleed!

The seals is not endangered, killing baby seals is illegal and the hakapik is considered more humane than shooting them are. Whats the problem?
Oh, yeah.. Go watch some videos of cuddly polar bears eating seal and see if that look humane...

youtube has everything

 

[fisherdvm]

Naturediver, I don't think we are on opposite side on the matter of protecting animal's welfare. I just have to clarify that most people in the animal industry are not cruel.

I have worked in the dairy industry, and the egg industry. I remember my boss who instructed me on how to care for about 60,000 hens when he was on vacation. We walked the hen's cages, and if he spotted a rooster, he would take it out, throw it ALIVE into the manure pit. The living rooster simply would float on the liquid manure, and eventually die of thirst. I was not in the position at the time to disagree. When I find a rooster, I pull its neck to break it - and after it is dead, I throw it down the manure pit.

When I did walk the cages... I pulled about 50 dead hens the first day - from being trampled by their pen mate when their toes get caught. It is a cruel life for these hens, and declawing ( a method condemned by the animal right folks) might prevent them from getting caught. In the same way, the animal rights folks detest debeaking. But birds by instinct pecks at anything red. Given the bright light of the egg farms (stimulate egg production), animals not debeaked would peck at combs and nostrils of one another - until they barely have half a face left - and still be alive. Debeaking minimizes the trauma - and blood - which only fuels the instinctive drive to peck at anything red. Again, they said that debeaking is done without anesthesia. But anesthesia is not possible with tiny hatchling chicks. And when was the last time a mother complained that her newborn son was circumcised without anesthetic?

I think a little more education on both sides, and a little less emotions will yield much improvement in how animals are cared in this country. Many animal lovers own cats.... And many let their cats roam outside. One would only observe how much devastation and destruction an undeclawed (even declawed ones can too) cat can do on bird nests, bird houses, and wild life. And they don't just kill - they torture, torment, and play with their prey until the prey die from exhaustion or slow internal trauma.

And yet, when asked to confine their animals - these people often say - that is cruel, and unnatural. We can do much to prevent cruelty to wild animals simply by keeping cats and dogs indoor.

 

[tedtim]

Naturediver, I don't think we are on opposite side on the matter of protecting animal's welfare. I just have to clarify that most people in the animal industry are not cruel.

I have worked in the dairy industry, and the egg industry. I remember my boss who instructed me on how to care for about 60,000 hens when he was on vacation. We walked the hen's cages, and if he spotted a rooster, he would take it out, throw it ALIVE into the manure pit. The living rooster simply would float on the liquid manure, and eventually die of thirst. I was not in the position at the time to disagree. When I find a rooster, I pull its neck to break it - and after it is dead, I throw it down the manure pit.

When I did walk the cages... I pulled about 50 dead hens the first day - from being trampled by their pen mate when their toes get caught. It is a cruel life for these hens, and declawing ( a method condemned by the animal right folks) might prevent them from getting caught. In the same way, the animal rights folks detest debeaking. But birds by instinct pecks at anything red. Given the bright light of the egg farms (stimulate egg production), animals not debeaked would peck at combs and nostrils of one another - until they barely have half a face left - and still be alive. Debeaking minimizes the trauma - and blood - which only fuels the instinctive drive to peck at anything red. Again, they said that debeaking is done without anesthesia. But anesthesia is not possible with tiny hatchling chicks. And when was the last time a mother complained that her newborn son was circumcised without anesthetic?

I think a little more education on both sides, and a little less emotions will yield much improvement in how animals are cared in this country. Many animal lovers own cats.... And many let their cats roam outside. One would only observe how much devastation and destruction an undeclawed (even declawed ones can too) cat can do on bird nests, bird houses, and wild life. And they don't just kill - they torture, torment, and play with their prey until the prey die from exhaustion or slow internal trauma.

And yet, when asked to confine their animals - these people often say - that is cruel, and unnatural. We can do much to prevent cruelty to wild animals simply by keeping cats and dogs indoor.

So much for the argument about cruelty to seals. I wonder if those folks in the HSUS, or the Europeans will be pressuring the grocery chains to stop selling poultry.

The problem here is that the seal hunt is conducted in such a short period of time that the folks that want to make a stink about it have the window of opportunity to do so. For the rest of the year we hear nothing. As for the rest of the stuff that goes on, well it goes on and is probably more widespread cruelty to animals than what happens in the seal hunt.

I would insert the beating a dead horse graphic here, but I am sure someone would say that it represents cruelty to animals and the graphic should be changed to show a more humane approach.

 

[Kim]

For the rest of the year we hear nothing.

Whales........

 

[wardric]

I remember in Cayo Largo, we were at the beach with many tourists. I see people are looking at something which happens to be a little black bird with a broken feather. A french girl takes the bird and put him in a little made up nest, she talks to the bird to reassure it but eventually, knowing she cant keep it, lets him loose in the sun. The bird is suffering so I tell her we should end his suffering but she gives me the look that kills. She finally agrees that something should be done so I come close to the bird, take him gently in my hands and quickly twist it's neck. She then organize a ceremony and burries it under leaves and shreds (dinner for cats). After talking with her, she tells me she's a veggie from PETA or the like. She is supposed to be the animal protector here, yet she could only talk to the bird or organize it's funerals. She would have let it die in the sun from dehydration in a long painfull way.