We have enslaved the rest of the animal creation, and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were able to formulate a religion, they would depict the Devil in human form. ~William Ralph Inge, Outspoken Essays, 1922

photo from

ANIMAL RIGHTS POETRY

THEY WILL NEVER KNOW A SPRING

As I walked along the street today
My heart began to sing,
For I passed a mass of daffodils
And I felt the joy of Spring.
I marveled at the colours
Of the blossom everywhere,
And it filled my heart with joy
To see the trees no longer bare.

Then I thought of all the animals
And no more my heart could sing, And I ached for all the millions
Who will never know a Spring.

I thought of pigs in factory farms
In squalid filthy pens,
And I thought of spider-ridden sheds Stacked up with battery hens.
They’ll never feel a ray of sun,
Their hearts will never sing,
Locked away from life and beauty They will never know a Spring

photo from

DONT TELL ME THAT EATING EGGS DOESNT KILL! #chickens #animalrights

Toronto Cow Save vigil September 12th 2013 A really intense vigil was held yesterday outside of St Helen’s and Ryding Regency bovine slaughterhouses. One Cow Save member (Kristen Bethel) made vegan BLTs for the striking workers from Ryding Regency killing facility. They were made with her yummy coconut bacon. In doing so, many incredible connections were made with these individuals who are currently protesting the plant attempting to take away their hours and disability benefits. Some were already vegetarian, saying that the cruelty they have seen at the slaughterhouse has changed them. Kristen encouraged them to go vegan and some were excited about taking her cooking classes! Others stated that they would begin transitioning to a vegetarian diet, again with the help of Kristen’s knowledge of cooking. Despite one slaughterhouse functioning at a lower rate than normal, we saw many trucks coming in and out of the other one (St Helen’s). One truck was carrying tiny babies that appeared to only be between two weeks and two months old. These little angels were not being slaughtered, the truck was unloaded other bovines to be murdered. They are instead traveling further across the country to be sold as “breeders”. Their fate is equally (if not more) heartbreaking than the beings who lost their lives yesterday, as they were yelling for their mothers the entire time, and will be facing a lifetime of exploitation. Another truck carrying beautiful black Angus bovines stopped on the road for a significant amount of time, giving the activists many moments with the innocent souls trapped inside, who, despite what the driver said, were all gentle. I spent a very long time with one being, who is pictured above in the third and second-last photos. He was terrified of me at first, so I stood there, with my hands hanging into the truck, and just spoke to him for awhile in a very quiet voice. I told him how handsome I thought he was over and over again. Eventually he came up to my hands and pressed his nose against them, even giving me a few tiny kisses with his rough tongue. After this, I gave the top of his nose (a spot that feels like velvet) a tiny scratch. He seemed to really enjoy this so I moved my hand up to scratch his forehead. He liked this so much that he began rigorously moving his head up and down to scratch it against my fingers. I have named him Albert in my heart, and there he will remain forever. Very shortly after this, the driver yelled that he was going to back the truck into the slaughterhouse. I gripped onto the sides of the trailer and ideas of how to free these incredible beings whipped through my mind. Eventually, another activist had to pull my hands off the truck, so I wouldn’t get injured. She then embraced me and I sobbed for a long time. I kept picturing the horror these gentle creatures were about to face. It is so wrong. I quietly prayed to any god out there that their deaths would at least be quick. These beautiful, amazing creatures are all dead now, their body parts packaged for consumption. They wanted life. They wanted love (and indeed, responded to it so well after only knowing us for a few minutes). And they deserved it. Please. Please go vegan for them. Vegan Starter Kit. Toronto Cow Save. Photo credit to Agnes Cseke (the lovely, caring activist who held me for as long as I cried).

VEGAN STARTER KIT

DOWNED COW

”The article “Downed Cow” 28 years ago changed my life forever.” – Maria Dolores Power

Downed Cow

The truck carrying this cow was unloaded at Walton Stockyards in Kentucky one September morning. After the other animals were removed from the truck, she was left behind, unable to move.

Stockyard workers used customary electric prods in her ear to try to get her out of the truck, then they beat her and kicked her in the face, ribs, and back, but she still didn’t move. They tied a rope around her neck, tied the other end to a post in the ground, and drove the truck away. The cow was dragged along the floor of the truck and fell to the ground, breaking both her hind legs and her pelvis in the process. She remained this way until 7:30 that evening.

For the first three hours, she lay in the hot sun crying out. Periodically, when she urinated or defecated, she used her front legs to drag herself along the gravel roadway to a clean spot. She also tried to crawl to a shaded area, but she was unable to move far enough. Altogether, she only managed to crawl between 13 and 14 yards.

The stockyard employees wouldn’t allow her any drinking water; the only water she received was given to her by Jessie Pierce, a local animal rights activist. After she was contacted by a woman who witnessed the incident, Jessie arrived at noon. Stockyard workers did not cooperate to help her, so she called the Kenton County police. A police officer arrived but was instructed by his superiors to do nothing; he left at 1 p.m.



The stockyard operator informed Jessie that he had permission from the insurance company to kill the cow but wouldn’t do it until Jessie left. Although doubtful that he would keep his word, Jessie left at 3. She returned at 4:30 and found the stockyard deserted. Three dogs were attacking the cow, who was still alive. She had suffered a number of bite wounds, and her drinking water had been removed. Jessie contacted the state police.

Four officers arrived at 5:30. State trooper Jan Wuchner wanted to shoot the cow but was told that a veterinarian should kill her. The facility’s two veterinarians would not euthanize her; they claimed that in order to preserve the value of the meat, the cow could not be destroyed. A butcher eventually arrived at 7:30 and shot the cow.

Her body was purchased for $307.50.

When the stockyard operator was questioned by a reporter from The Kentucky Post, he stated, “We didn’t do a damned thing to it”, and referred to the attention given to the cow by humane workers and police as “bullcrap”. He laughed throughout the interview, saying that there was nothing wrong with the way that the cow was treated.



This is not an isolated case. It is so common that animals in this condition are known in the meat industry as “downers”. According to the meat industry’s own statistics, each year, millions of chickens, turkeys, pigs, and cows arrive at the slaughterhouse either dead or too sick or injured to walk. The animals become severely crippled or ill after a lifetime of abuse in factory farms and a very difficult journey to the slaughterhouse, during which they are shipped through all weather extremes without any food or water.

Factory farms don’t provide individualized medical care or humane euthanasia to sick animals: It’s cheaper to let the animals suffer and eventually die. The suffering caused by the meat, egg, and dairy industries’ cost-cutting measures is enormous.

The egg industry, for example, confines between five and 11 birds to small wire battery cages, despite the fact that the extreme crowding causes some of the birds to get sick and die. Egg-industry expert Bernard Rollin sums up the simple, cold-hearted reasoning of egg factory-farm operators by saying that “chickens are cheap, cages are expensive”

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After PETA brought much-needed attention to this issue, the Kenton County Police Department adopted a policy requiring that euthanasia be performed on all downed animals immediately, whether they are on the farm, in transit, or at the slaughterhouse.

Many other law enforcement agencies don’t have such policies, and downed animals continue to suffer everywhere. It is up to the public to demand change in how the meat, egg, and dairy industries treat animals, and it is up to consumers to refuse to purchase the products of this miserable industry. Otherwise, many more animals will continue to suffer the same agonizing fate of this nameless cow.

Source

So what can you do? You can go vegan. It’s as simple as that. This torture isn’t endured by animals in meat industries only. Go vegan and refuse to fund and support this insane cruelty and heartlessness. Spread the word. Educate.

A diet which includes animal products and byproducts are not good for you, for the animals, or for the planet.

Go Vegan