Animal cruelty

I read your article on being vegan and the issue of ethics with interest

It hits a nerve

At present in Australia it has come to the public’s attention the cruelty of our policy of live animal exports

This means we cramm animals for meat into boats and ship them to Asia for slaughter. This maintains our export industry and trade agreements with Indonesia and other Asian countries.

While many animal rights activists have known of this inhumane treatment of living beings the majority of Australians didnt wether  by ignorance or choice is debatable.

Some  years ago footage was seen of the cruel manner in which cattle were slaughtered in Indonesia. An effective propaganda campaign was executed( excuse the pun ) that told the majority of aussies it was unaustralian to criticise this practice as this would impact directly on our farmers who are held in high regard and seen as battlers by most Australians

Many Aistralians were shamed into not speaking up and the practice continued

The more recent footage of crammed, dehydrated distressed sheep covered in the own feaces gasping for air has again brought the issue of live exports into question

However  this time the farmers have spoken up and made it clear they do not farm their animals to be treated so cruely

So now we feel ethically we can all speak up. Closing  our abattoirs cost many jobs and left some rural towns with no industry.

Previously animals were slaughtered close to the farming communities and exported as frozen carcasses

Despite  people’s preference for meat,vegan or vegetarian diets it is a relief that ethically we can identify cruelty as a poor reflection on a society. And while we can debate if butchering meat can ever be done humanely and killing any lving being  is an atrocity, we can at least unite to condem profit outweighing the basic decency of kindness and consideration for all creatures

Many of us want to see an end to live animal exports . Maybe the recent exposure may see this occur.

This exposure may even prompt some of us to reconsider the meat industry as a whole and look deeper into the misconception encouraged by a huge very profitable industry , the very issue of the necessity of meat as food and the romantic ideal of small farms and animals enjoying the country life in open fields and paddocks.

This has not been the case for at least one human generation. The impact on the environment of mono farming be it corn or beef is well known.

Unfortunately , not however to the majority of citizens who believe the lies perpetrated covertly  that maintain multinational factories of harm

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