Torturing Cows is Standard Operating Procedure
Brutality to an animal is cruelty to mankind, it is only the difference in the victim.
- Alphonse de Lamartine
The year is 2012. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) took these disturbing undercover videos in January, 2012 at a New York dairy farm. (You may not want to watch this horrific film clip. I did, and regret it.)
http://www2.peta.org/site/R?i=sbTnLA1FgV5xFg8E-Udt4Q
The year was 1971 I was college then, when the New York Times published classified Pentagon Papers revealing America’s deceit about America’s cruelty in Viet Nam. In those days, we burned draft cards and protested injustices overseas. I drank milk like everybody else, and had no clue that dairy cows were abused. I was also unaware that a biochemist had genetically engineered the first version of human somatotropin using a technology that would soon be applied to bovines. I recently came across a veterinarian’s column, dated October 10, 1971. The column appeared in Hoard’s Dairyman on page 1054, Volume 116, Number 19. The veterinarian, Clyde Lyle, D.V.M., related the story of a dairy cow which took a liking to cow’s milk and sucked from the udders of other cows grazing in the pasture. Dr. Lyle discussed traditional options: “There are several ways to prevent sucking. Hog rings are one method. There are muzzles with forks and nose rings with forks or prongs that may cause pain to both the offender and the cow being sucked.” The creative method that Dr. Lyle finally selected was horrifying to me. The veterinarian wrote: “I have found only one method that has been consistently successful in adult animals with the habit…The method consists of giving the cow a general anesthetic which provides insensitivity to pain for 5 to ten minutes…I pulled the tongue forward and out through the side of the mouth…I split the tongue down the midline for 8 to 9 inches and removed half of the tongue.” Can you imagine the pain? If you are a dairy consumer, you must take responsibility for all of the practices which bring milk to your table. Does the brutality continue? You decide. You might enjoy reviewing some devices for sale from the Nasco Farm & Ranch supply catalog. (800-558-9595) 1) Page 13-Ear Punch (Description: “…especially designed to punch out a clean, round hole clear through the ear.”) 2) Page 13-Insecticide Cattle Ear Tag (Description: “A slow-release ear tag containing a synergized formulation of a potent, enriched S-isomer pyrethoid compound.”) 3) Page 19-Electric Branding Iron (“Operates on 110V AC. Heats to a cherry red in about two minutes.”) 4) Page 66-Tail Docker (Description: “Portable gas-heated tail docker. Temperature heats up to 850 degrees. Cauterizes as it cuts, resulting in a clean process without bleeding.”) 5) Page 72-Castrator (Description: “Scissors blades cut off end of scrotum. ‘Teeth’ remove testicles.”) 6) Page 92-Super Debeaker (Description: “Stop losses from picking, cannibalism, fighting, and egg eating. Quickly cauterizes off part of upper beak. Can be used for wing clipping as well.”) 7) Page 124-Artificial Bovine Vagina (Description: “Finest artificial vagina ever offered. Its smooth finish and cushioned ends are sanitary and safe for valuable bulls. Just the right stiffness. 16″ length includes collection funnel.”) 8) Page 129-The Swine Inseminators’ Handbook (Description: “How to artificially inseminate the breeding female.”) 9) Page 171-Teat Saver (Description: “The end of teat injury! The teat saver prevents dairy cows from stepping on their own teats.”) 10) Page 204-Cattle Prod (Description: “Delivers a very low current to an animal with a strong, instantaneous jolt, so there is no danger of harming you or the livestock.”)
Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
