The Animals
May all that have life be delivered from suffering. –Buddha
The brutality of current factory farming and animal production industries would disturb most any human being, but most of us are unaware of the suffering that goes on for these billions of animals every year. We have compartmentalized our
companion animals and protected them with legislation while abandoning other species to being nothing but commodities, ignoring their ability to suffer and condemning them to brief lives of continual physical and emotional abuse. Cows, calves, pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese and other animals are kept in small cages and overcrowded warehouse sheds. Many are unable to turn around; many are kept in such toxic conditions that the environment surrounding these factories is inhospitable to life. Animals are castrated, dehorned, debeaked, and burned without pain medication. Many animals are alive and conscious when they are plunged into scalding water, defeathered, skinned or have their throats slit.
- 50 billion animals are slaughtered worldwide for food annually
- Most are killed when they are babies or very young
- 250 million male chicks are gased, suffocated or ground alive each year because they cannnot produce eggs
- 100 million animals die in the United States each year after being used in animal testing and research
- 3 to 4 million dogs and cats are killed in shelters each year in the U.S.
- 30 million animals are killed on fur farms each year without regulation
- 2 million dogs and cats are killed for fur in China under horrible conditions (and listed as being from other animals)
- 2 million wild animals are killed by the U. S. Department of Agriculture each year, including endangered species
(See here for more detailed information.)
Beware what you are buying when you purchase any item that uses animal products. You may be buying suffering for a fellow sentient being. Animal by-products are found in everything from shampoo to candy, so shop with caution to avoid supporting suffering and death.
