Photo courtesy of Jordan Wyatt, Coexisting With Nonhuman Animals

Those beautiful, downy little newborn chicks, freshly hatched from their prenatal calcium carbonate home, are amazing beings. They come fully equipped with a most sensitive beak which will allow them to hunt for food, two strong legs with claws for scratching the earth, and a body full of tiny feathers which will eventually grow into beautiful plumage to protect the new little life from the elements. They have the ability to make the most pleasant chirping noises, so their mums may find them if they lose their way. They will have the ability to be aerodynamic, to live peacefully in community, and to be part of a family. They will require little on which to live, just a few things scratched from the earth and a humble kind of shelter. They are born into an hierarchy that may seem archaic through our anthropo-centric lens, but the paternal rooster looks after his flock and finds them food, calling to them, making certain they eat even before he does himself. The mother hen is protective of her brood; they stay close to her for warmth and safety.

The Brief Life of a Hatchling

Because some human decided to steal their eggs and lived to tell of the deed, billions of their brethren are snatched from their natural lifecycle and used in the cruel and profitable egg industry. The babies are hatched into plastic trays, without a mother to help them learn to grow, to talk to them, comfort them, and help them learn their place in the world. They are then put on an industrial conveyer belt, and anyone of them who is suspected of the crime of masculinity is tossed down an industrial chute, to become industrial waste. They are either sent to a mascerator that grinds them from life to lifeless mass, or puts them into a trash box where they slowly suffocate as more and more of their fellow roosterlings are tossed down the same chute. Imagine putting a puppy or a human infant into a wood chipper – this is what is happening to the newborn male chicks in the standard practice of the egg industry. This is happening to some of the most harmless and endearing creatures on earth, little downy beings that are often portrayed in the nurseries of our own infants, symbols of innocence, gentleness, and vulnerability.

The Waste of Industrial Farming

Any practice that includes the use  of others against their will, the theft of the infants of other species, condemnation to either a life in a toxic environment, continual assault on their bodily integrity, slaughter while fully conscious while hanging by their legs, or instant cruel and painful death as a brand new hatchling  –  any such complete disrespect should be condemned for what it is. It is an insult to the natural order and to all things decent.

One day when I was a young schoolgirl, I was home from school sick with the flu, when the television show I was watching was interrupted by a sudden announcement: “Caryl Chessman is now in the death chamber, the cyanide pellets have now been dropped.”  And a few moments later, “Caryl Chessman is dead.”  This was the first time I was aware that the State of California was killing people, and it was many years before I would learn that Mr. Chessman had been given a stay of execution, but it had been too late as the pellets had already been dropped. I still recall, though, the chilling and horrifying realization that this was being broadcast about an actual human life. I wished I had gone to school sick rather than be part of the dreadful day. While in prison, Mr. Chessman wrote four books, all national bestsellers. Mr. Chessman maintained his innocence throughout his twelve years in prison. There had been only circumstantial evidence against Mr. Chessman.

Violence Breeds Violence

On June 16, 1944, then 14 year old George Stinney became the youngest person to be executed in the U.S.during the twentieth century. Young George was taken into custody after the disappearance of two little white girls, ages 8 and 11. Within an hour, and without counsel or family present, the 90 lb. Mr. Stinney confessed to the murder of the girls. Listen to recollections here from family members of both the accused and the victims. There was no physical evidence presented against him and the jury only took ten minutes to deliver a guilty verdict. Due to the volatile racism of the era, the African-American family of George Stinney fled South Carolina, leaving young George to face un unjust system all alone. George came from a small, loving family and was reportedly a good student.

Many people around the world are mourning the recent loss of Troy Anthony Davis. Davis was convicted of the murder of a policeman but most of those who testified against him later recanted. There was no physical evidence against him. Police had circulated his photo, making it unclear if those who identified him saw his photo or saw him at the crime scene. Jurors stated that they would have never voted for conviction had they known then what they later learned. The Supreme Court of the US denied Davis his last chance at life, and at any form of justice. Amnesty International, NAACP, Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu, Pope Benedict XVI and many others supported Mr. Davis in his quest for life and justice. Impersonal state agencies, far removed from the individual, decide whether that individual will live or die.  There was doubt about his guilt. With the advent of DNA, we have learned that our system of criminal justice is seriously flawed, with one person after another being found innocent of their alleged crimes. Despite overwhelming evidence that Mr. Davis was an innocent man, despite the lack of any physical evidence tying him to the crime, despite the doubt of his guilt, Mr. Davis was nonetheless executed by the State of Georgia at 10 PM on September 21, 2011. For many people, his death was also the end of any semblance of trust in a failed US criminal justice system, one that appears more concerned with control than truth or justice. What we know for sure is that Mr. Davis was a human being who wanted to live. Troy was also reportedly a good student from a loving family. He was, like George Stinney, also black. Minorities are over-represented on Death Row. So are poor people.

Convicted of Being Different

Over in West Memphis, Arkansas, three young misfits were convicted of murder, once again without physical evidence, nearly two decades ago. These boys were white, but they were markedly different from the rest of their community. One was somewhat Goth in appearance, wearing black and listening to heavy metal, all three were adolescents. When three little boys disappeared and were late found murdered in a grisly fashion, the boys who appeared different were easy targets. Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr., commonly known as the West Memphis Three, spent half of their young lives imprisoned due to a shoddy criminal justice system. They were recently released, free of all charges, yet with the stigma of being felons to remain on their shoulders. Damien Echols was on Death Row and the other two men were serving life sentences when there were released. Filmmaker Joe Berlinger made two documentaries about the plight of these three young men and a host of celebrities supported their release. “Free the West Memphis Three” was emblazoned on tee shirts supporting the men. (You can watch Paradise Lost, the documentary about these three, online.)

I now live in the State of Texas, which is known for the high number of executions. Texas executes the mentally ill, too. In 2000, one mentally ill prisoner asked to be executed under a full moon in exchange for waiving his right to appeal, and thus Larry Robison, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was executed on January 21, 2000. And mentally retarded individuals have also been included in these ghastly statistics, too.  Johnny Paul Penry, with an estimated IQ of 56, did not understand why he was going to be put to sleep but thought it was “a cruel thing to do.”  When our current Governor, Rick Perry, was debating other Republican contenders for the nomination as candiate for the President of the United States recently, the crowd at the Reagan Library burst into rousing applause at the mention of his execution record, a higher number than any other governor in the modern era, interrupting the moderator before he could complete asking a question of Governor Perry. Death is popular in some quarters, it seems. The US joins China, Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia as nations that execute their citizens. As a deterrent, capital punishment has failed.

Mourning the Lack of Justice

For those of us fighting for years for justice for Troy Anthony Davis, this is a time of mourning; for those of us fighting for justice for all the innocent, regardless of species, today is yet another day to mourn the violence in the world.

Violence is not the answer; violence is what needs to stop.

End the death penalty.
Go vegan.
Stop the needless killing.

As a rookie foster provider for two feline brothers, I plunged in with all the best intentions and little knowledge of what to expect. I had agreed to take these two displaced persons into my home on a very temporary basis, as they are both declawed and young, while our resident feline is getting up in years and is fully armed with claws. I knew it was not an ideal situation, but since the only other option appeared to be dropping them off at the local animal shelter with a high kill rate, I opened my front door to two very anxious and terrified little guys.

Lesson Number One: Allow Time for Transitioning

The first few days were a nightmare; they had been dropped off without collars or tags, without medical records, and without carriers.  One hid under the couch, one hid behind the bed. They hissed constantly and appeared positively terrified. Litter boxes, along with food and water, were place within easy distance so they could come out at night when the house was quiet. I hoped they would join with one another for comfort, but they never left their spots for days.  I had to confine our cat, Skitter, in a room until they could be retrieved from their hiding places. Finally, I used food to seduce the beneath-the-couch resident into the lair of his brother in the bedroom.  Once they were contained and reunited, things began looking up considerably.

They continued to hiss at one another, to the point I grew concerned. My grandson, age 5, assured me it was normal. “I am often quite terrible to my brother but I still love him. I think it is normal.” Of course, he was exactly right – they were just scared and being declawed kitties, had to sound as scary as they could to protect themselves. Litter boxes and other equipment were arranged in the bedroom and they were set to adjust to their foster home. There are two large windows with low wide tables under them, in their bedroom, perfect perching places for inquisitive felines, and they soon spent hours peering out at the greenbelt behind our home.

Lesson Two: Make Sure There Is A Game Plan

Meanwhile, resident she-cat was none too happy about these rambunctious male visitors. There was hissing at the door to their room, and four strategically placed (but gentle) bites on my arm to voice her displeasure. At one point, my grandson accidentally let them out and our gentle feline became the She-Devil of Texas, with two frightened boys heading for their safe spot under the couch.  Skitter let out some incredible warning growls and I was forced to grab her and suffer any consequences, but she calmed right down. She just needed to let them know who was boss and whose house they were in – hers! It was looking like our house would be divided for quite some time.

Complicating matters, those who asked me to foster had no game plan. No one else was planning to take responsibility for finding these boys a home. I think like me, they were motivated by the best of intentions but without any real knowledge of what rehoming animals requires. I was soon to learn. For example, it is illegal to rehome cats that have not been spayed or neutered in Texas. I needed to get their medical records, something I had requested before assuming responsibility for them. A quarter million animals are killed each year in north Texas due to irresponsible animal guardians and homeless beings procreating with one another. This number is increased greatly by the number of puppy mills, individual breeders and kitten litters that seem to perpetually appear in the want ads of local newspapers. With the recession, things have become much worse, with job loss, home foreclosures, and an increase in the divorce rate. It was this final sadness, the dissolution of a family, that cost these two their happy home.

Lesson Three: Benevolent Despotism is Better Than ….. The Alternative

During the months of fostering, I have often felt like a despot, forcing these two loving and bright spirits to remain locked away from everyone for most of the day, when all they want is to investigate and cuddle. Meanwhile, there is a corresponding guilt for our resident feline, who was not eating as much as normal and sticking by my side during the day. I never fostered before out of respect for Skitter, who was originally a foster cat herself. She deserves to have a peaceful place during her golden years. When she naps, I do let the boys out to romp for awhile, but it is never for long. Somehow, they are adapting to this life, but it is far below my own minimum standards for animal care. I want them to have the home I could provide for them if I were available.

But of course on the other side of things, there are two beautiful, lively, loving feline boys who are alive and well and will most likely find a permanent home. They are exceptionally beautiful, clean, playful and loving. They are devilishly rambunctious and adore humans. Their athleticism amazes me, as they can leap up to the top shelf in my closet or above the refrigerator in the kitchen. My adult son nows comes to visit regularly and heads right to the “boys room” in the back of the house. He likes their playfulness, the way they grab his arm and give gentle bites, and the way they purr loudly when he visits. My grandson loves that they cannot claw him, with their oh-so-soft little paws feeling very safe. He also loves being the Authority Figure, clapping his hands to remind them to get down from a table or counter. He has even started volunteering to clean out their litter boxes and they run to see him when is here. And, he has told me never wants them to leave.

Lesson Four: Find a Legitimate Rescue Group

I am now getting assistance from some legitimate rescue groups who rehome animals. I have advertised them on Facebook, Twitter, and in the local grocery store giveaway magazines. They have been posted on every local rescue I could find.  Experienced rehomers have assured me it just takes time, but these boys will find a home. It may require volunteering at a local pet store ( or even at one some distance away) weekly so they can gain admittance to being seen there. Flyers have been given out at every opportunity. They will also be posted on Petfinder.com and have been shown on Examiner.com, too. I had hoped to find them a home together, since they are so loving with one another, but was told there are no guarantees. Right now, finding a suitable home is no easy task. With everything we do wrong when it comes to animals, it seemed like keeping this family pair together was essential when everything else was taken from them. I know each will do well with a loving person in their life, but still hold out hope that their wonderful union can continue. I look forward with simultaneous hope and grief towards their adoption. I know it will break my heart the day I get the bedroom back, but I will also be glad to give Skitter back her domain.

The work that our local animal rescue groups do is truly lifesaving. They fight for decent conditions in local animal shelters, they work tirelessly to get the animals in their care before the public eye, and they remind us of the significance of each and every animal life. They attend protests when shelter conditions are lacking and shelter staff are unwilling to negotiate. And, they help the forlorn fostering homes like mine find a way to the salvation of a bright new future for a few lucky animals. Without them, there may well be even higher numbers of animals dying in this part of the world. Special thanks to Teresa at Furever Friends and Lynn at Feral Felines for all their support and encouragement.

Lesson Five: Look Before You Leap

Taking responsibility for the lives of others is a daunting task. It has increased my stress and decreased my free time and my finances. I have no future plans to foster again; I want Skitter to have peace and quiet. I want to live in a house that is not divided between clawed and declawed, between resident and foster.

But I did acquire a doghouse recently. Who knows? Maybe someday….

The ticket necessary to gain admittance into the moral community is supposed to be sentience. If you are able to feel, then your being-ness, your personhood, should be considered.  But anyone who has spent any time with willingly open eyes and hearts knows that the animals on the planet, including in her seas and skies, are much more than sentient.  Two recent additions to our household through fostering have reaffirmed that fact: two boisterous young feline boys have slowly emerged from their hissing defensiveness to delight and destroy us with their antics, their athleticisim, and their ability to communicate. Because they have been declawed, sadly, they are very vulnerable, making their hissing even more understandable: showing their teeth is their last defense.  Anyway, hissing is what cats often do when confronted with new territory and strange cats or people. It their get-back-jack way of saying “leave me alone,” and we respected that.  Slowly, over the course of a few days, their individual personalities began to emerge, on their own timeframe and in their own way.

Individuality and Personhood

I can hear the boys exploring their environment. They have knocked down every single item that was placed on an end table or a dresser, including lamps, pictures, and boxes.  They have tried valiantly to open the cupboards, as evidenced by the constant banging of the spring-type doors against the cabinet wall. When introduced to a toy at the end of an elastic string on a stick, one of the brothers made amazing aerodynamic flight into midair, fell off beds and furniture, and risked it all for victory. His brother looked on with disdain, preferring to wait until the object came within his reach.  One puts his paw in the water dish, the other keeps his paws dry. One eats too fast, the other takes his time. One is super friendly and outgoing, one is defensive, quiet and beautiful.  They are littermates, but have developed very different personalities. (Notice the word “person” there?)

While it is easy to recognize personal (that word “person” again) characteristics within the mammals with which we encounter on a regular basis, it is less apparent when dealing with avian and acquatic beings with whom we are less familiar.  Those who look the least like us seem to get the least credit for their personhood. Consider the poor chicken, who is not even given even the weak protection of humane slaughter laws and who most people consider without intelligence or feelings at all.  Watch any of Jordan Wyatt’s chicken friends on video for a different perspective – they perch on his lap, are very polite in eating a bit of food he offers, and band together in an understood governance that is peaceful and effective. Recent research has shown evidence of empathy in fish as well as altruism. We know scientifically that those with central nervous systems can feel pain, yet many people still deny that animals care about their lives at all. Tell that one to Clara the cow who was rescued by a sanctuary after leaping over a six foot fence to avoid the slaughterhouse she was about to be forced into.

Opting Out of the Slaughterhouse

The grinding alive of newborn male chicks, perfectly beautiful and exquisitely formed, is an example of the lack of empathy exhibited by our own species. Undercover videos show humans kicking newborn calves about, sadistically harming pigs on their way to slaughter even though some of the pigs try to nuzzle them, while traumatized animals are used endlessly for human entertainment.  Some poor depraved human beings enjoy crushing small animals under their feet as a sexual fetish — evidence that something has gone terribly awry in the human species. On the recent Oprah shown on “veganism,” the depersonalization of the individuality of animals reached a new low.  The slaughterhouse was shown to be antiseptically sterile (no blood, no death throes) with the heads of many cows lined up while someone discussed how using every bit of the animal somehow showed him or her “respect.” Making the killing of individuals appear acceptable seems a travesty, an assault on the very notion of what most vegans know about animals, and a point of departure for those of us wanting to live in a nonviolent world.

Sentience is the ticket into the moral community but it alone tells us little about our fellow earthlings. Knowing that my temporary family members, the two feline boys I mentioned earlier, have feelings doesn’t begin to tell anyone who they are.  As they are individually marked on the outside (one gray, one orange), they are also developing into unique individuals from within.  It seems unlikely that any game plan would give such individuality to a nonbeing good only for their flesh or their fur.  It seems that Clara, the cow bred for her hide and flesh, was destined to become a unique individual, too. She opted out of the plan others made for her life. As a vegan, I have opted out too. Won’t you join me?

It has been conservatively estimated that every human being that consumes animals takes about  90-100 lives each year. That is a carnage of immense proportions. If each vegan advocate on average reaches a person by mid-life, that would still be the saving of about 4,000-5,000 animal lives. Is there any form of activism that can save that many lives? However you spread the word about veganism, remember those thousands of lives that hang in the balance.

If every vegan can convince one other human to embrace a philosophy of veganism, the vegan population would double. And doubling begins to gain momentum until, after just a few years, the numbers become huge.

If 1% of the world’s population is indeed vegan, as estimated, that means there are over sixty-seven million of us. In only four years, there would be a billion of us.

As billions of animals are slaughtered each year, their combined energy usage drawn from the earth’s resources will soon deplete what is left alive on earth.

As thousands of acres of forests are cut down and used for animal grazing, less land is available for animal habitat and for creating the oxygen we require to breathe. There are only so many acres of land on the planet.

Human population is estimated to reach 9 billion in short order.

Do the math.

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140 Billion Animals Slaughtered Every Year

World Population Clock

Animals Slaughtered  2003 – from UN stats

“Why do you care so much about animals?”

My four year old grandson asked me at the breakfast table: an earnest question, and no time to prepare an answer.

“Because I have come to see them, to know them. They have feelings.”

Unsaid: How could anyone not? Witnessing so much suffering by animals at the hands of human beings over the past few years, it just seems to grow. The respect for other forms of life, those less understandable, just keeps expanding. The traits I have come to appreciate: the beauty of an underwater mollusk, the grace of a deer, the leaping ability of the cat, the loving, friendly quality of the pig, the gentleness of a calf, the amazing abilities of an insect or a fish. There is so much graphic evidence about the mass extinction of animals that anyone who cares even slightly can now witness enough horror to become convinced. How could anyone not?

Ruby Roth, in her children’s book, That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals, says, “When we treat animals respectfully, we practice world peace.”

Seeing Ourselves As Part of the Natural World

At the root, it is about how I see myself within the context of all other life in the universe. To truly practice peace, we must treat the earth with respect, too. We do what we can, recycling, composting, walking, living simply. We make mistakes, but we try. We do not see the earth as ours to use or dominate, but rather see ourselves as part of the earth, part of nature (no matter how destructive our species has become). Respecting animal life is about peace, absolutely. It is also about recognizing others, in various forms, and their right to life, too. It does not matter their size, whether a tiny bug or a gigantic whale, the life force that exists within each animal is significant.

I remember an argument I had with my father when I was very young. Arguing against my “sensitivity” towards animals, he asked me whether I thought the life of a cat was as important as the life of a human being. “To the cat or to the human?” I retorted.  He made a lot of money out of the blood and sweat of animals as owner of a racing stable of thoroughbreds. Growing up on the racetrack, one witnesses many unfair contracts. Many of those horses run their hearts out all their lives, then get sent off to slaughter when their bodies are no longer able to earn a profit — hardly an equitable exchange. My father’s entire family goes elk hunting every year – I witnessed that at three years of age. The uncles made us little kids stand by the dead animals; I thought it was horrifying. Still do.

Early Experiences with Knowing  Animals

Then there was my grandmother, who used to raise chickens. I heard stories about killing animals, how she used to drown kittens when they became too plentiful, as soon as they were born. I heard that she killed the chickens by wringing their necks. Those stories so horrified me that I was always a little afraid of this fierce slender woman with her charming Danish accent. Yet my own mother was more of a soft heart for animals. We seemed to rescue any number of cats and dogs over the years, and I can recall her becoming overwhelmed with tears when her little dog died. She even said yes to a little dog that was going to be euthanized, even though it fell far, far short of being as cute as my pleading friend promised it was. Those animals gave me someone to love, and they loved me back, at a confusing time I desperately needed someone to acknowledge me. Seems only fair that I would see animals in return, see them as persons, as individuals.

Yet it is only since I have become vegan that I see animals with new eyes. While my respect for all species has increased, so has my understanding of the injustice we human beings have unleashed against them. Why do I care so much about animals? Because we share in this life, together. Because of a yearning for peace, justice, ahimsa, nature, life. Because I have come to know them. Because I respect them. Because I continue to recognize my own speciesism and do my best to eradicate it. Because I want to see life on this planet continue and I want to see natural habitat preserved. And, because it is the right thing to do.

Every night, millions of children are called to the dinner table to eat dead animals, their body parts, and their secretions. Most of those children have no idea what has been done to these animals, though older children at least have some idea that animals are killed for food. Some do not think about it, a few are a bothered by it but shut it out of their minds (with much cultural encouragement). If a young child asks why we eat animals, they are quickly set onto another topic.  Everything in the macro-culture reinforces the normalcy of eating animals. There are “Got Milk?” posters in the schools. There are advertisements on television and fast food gimmicks that assault kids regularly.  Even their cartoons are filled with food imagery — Sponge Bob and Crabby Patties are a happy twosome. When I am present and a child asks those questions, I often get that look, warning me not to answer. It is as if really discovering what is on the dinner table is forbidden; we all know but no one is willing to really talk about it. The truth is that all too often, it is who is for dinner, not what.

Denial at the Dinner Table and In the Military Maintains the Status Quo

In the military, where homosexuals have served with honor for decades, it serves the status quo to allow them to serve but to deny recognition of who they are — that homosexuals are honorable members of the armed services — because to admit who they are would challenge members of the public who are uncomfortable with that reality. The animals that are to be killed that day, and the next, and the next, must not be seen; the denial at the dinner table must exist for the status quo to be effective in keeping a lid on reality. What’s for dinner? Don’t ask, don’t tell.

Heterosexism, speciesism, racism, misogyny and racial intolerance all share traits in common:

1. There is a separation from the designated group of Other.
2. There is a reduction in value assigned to the designated group of Other.
3. There is a fear of the designated group of Other or what they represent.
4. There is disparagement of the designated group of Other that causes compartmentalization.
5. There is a use of demeaning terms and stereotypes onto the group of Other.

When I was in graduate school, we were shown an entire film that documented the way African Americans were seen in earlier times. It was horribly demeaning, with bizarre caricatures, cartoons, drawings and cruel imagery. It devastated me to know that adults could behave so stupidly and so cruelly to other beings; it impacted me viscerally. That racism met all five criteria, yet it is still quizzical to me that human beings can so exploit other beings and then vilify those very beings. Who has the right to outrage here? Of course, I realize the disparagement allows those who perpetrate crimes of bondage against another group to rationalize their behavior in some way. Yet here we are, once again denying an entire group of citizens their civil rights due to prejudice and misunderstanding, while using them in ways that endanger their very lives as they serve us  in the twenty-first century. And the speciesist talk about animals goes on so continually it is hard not to notice how we refuse to acknowledge the individuality of animals, too — another group denied personhood and disallowed into the moral community.

Fighting to Reboard the Titanic

It is like we are swimming to get back on board the Titanic even as the hull is beginning to disappear in the ocean.  But those parties! Those elegant dining events! We cling to a past this is already lost. I see some of us swimming for dear life to get back on the sinking ship, fearing the loss it represents and unwilling to accept the inevitability of change. Yes, the water might be cold for awhile but getting off the sinking ship is the only way to save our hides. Our “isms” aren’t working very well for us, yet we cling to them for dear life. We desperately need the very personnel in the military that we are expelling, and we are expelling some of the very best. Recent polls show that most Americans want DADT repealed, but some of the Old Guard are too prejudiced to realize what is going on in the world around them; they would not even let it be discussed in Congress. In an era of crass fear-mongering and the destruction it has wrought, it is time to start noticing the downward trend of the ship we once believed in and start looking for alternatives. Reality is a good starting point.

So here we are, refusing to see the animals we exploit, refusing to talk about the reality of their lives, refusing to acknowledge anything that might cause us to have to change from traditional patterns of behavior. Every night, we subject our children to the lies about their food, silent lies that omit the truth. It is past time to allow people to tell the truth. And for the animals, who have no voice, it is imperative that animal advocates tell their truth loud and long. Let’s make Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell be a thing of the past for all of us, both human and nonhuman animals. There are lives that depend upon us for justice.

Loyalty to a petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul.
~ Mark Twain, American author (1835–1910)

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  ~ 1 Cor 13:6, NIV

Rev. Michael P. Orsi recently wrote an article, “The Nonhuman Animal” for American Spectator. In his article he supports the findings of Wesley Smith’s book, A Rat is a Pig is a Dog is a Boy: The Human Cost of the Animal Rights Movement.  The title is derived from something stated by Ingrid Newkirk, founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) who actually said: “When it comes to having a central nervous system, and the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy.” Ignoring the original  purpose of that statement, Orsi goes on to call the term “animal rights” oxymoronic. Taken at the root, “oxy” indicates pointed or acute and “moronic” indicates foolish or stupid; the term is usually used to indicate a contradiction in terminology. According to Smith, animals cannot have rights because 1) they are amoral and 2) they cannot bear obligations. He fails to address the basis of animal rights as sentience, that animals can feel and therefore are worthy of consideration. Orsi too is stuck in archaic thinking as demonstrated by his referring to an animal as  ”it,”, thus immediately objectifying animals:

Thus, an animal’s awareness of its surroundings or its impulses — to whatever limited degree it can be aware — is sufficient to imbue it with rights equal to those of human beings.

Given that human beings have more than enough resources and could choose to leave animals alone yet instead choose to cause endless suffering, it is hard to see how this kind of “exceptionalism” is praiseworthy.

Nonhuman Animals as Rights Bearers

I would challenge Rev. Orsi and Wesley Smith on both counts. First, what evidence is there that animals are amoral? How many animals have risked their own lives in times of danger rather than just skedaddling (Civil War slang meaning to leave in a hurry) in order to save another human or nonhuman animal? Animals show affection and loyalty, something some of our more morally challenged fellow humans often fail to do. They are social beings who show comfort to others in their communities. Recent research continues to show us more and more that we humans tend to miss signs of intelligence, morality and sentience that are not exactly like our own. As to bearing obligations, if Smith means legal obligations within the human community, then he is right. But animals have borne endless obligations to humans, including being forced into lives of misery and servitude. Within the human-nonhuman relational construct, most humans have not borne any obligations towards nonhumans. A one-sided approach to ethics hardly seems fair, especially from a man who is a spiritual leader. Perhaps it is the very “human exceptionalism” that gives Rev. Orsi such comfort that  is causing so much suffering in the world. Domination and exploitation tend to spiral outward.

Orsi fears people whom he perceives want animals to have rights comparable to human beings (voting? driving? paying the mortgage?). I have not read Smith’s book, but have heard him debate Gary Francione regarding animal rights.  Smith, like Orsi, seems unaware of the plethora of evidence about the sentience of animals and takes a stand for exploitation of animals to continue without limitation. While Smith’s book does accept welfarism as legitimate, since it is part of the status quo, Smith and Orsi both believe that welfarism is doing a splendid job of keeping animals protected. Orsi seems particularly concerned with animals achieving any legal status beyond property, fearing that humans will somehow be threatened with extinction. He goes on to fear not only animal protectionists but environmental protectionists, too:

Smith doesn’t connect animal rights activism with the broader environmental movement, but the similarly anti-human aspect of the “green” agenda demonstrates a natural linkage (which would make an intriguing subject for a follow-up book). One need only look at the environmentalists’ emphasis on caring for the ecosystem while decrying the damage done to it by human beings with their infernal “carbon footprints.” Both movements seek the reduction of human presence on the planet through birth control, euthanasia, eugenics — even by starvation, if you carry the policies they advocate to their natural conclusions.

Assuming no responsibility for the tremendous suffering and destruction which human hubris has put forth on the earth, Orsi stays firmly locked into his sense of entitlement. His concern is only for the rights of humans, his rights. Yet the only right I have heard Gary Francione request on behalf of animals is their right to their very lives, the right to be free from property status.  Somehow, treating animals as the living, feeling, sensitive beings that they are, threatens something deep within Smith and Orsi, causing them to make outrageous claims against both animals and the people who recognize the injustice of their current status. Orsi conclude with:

Religious leaders, especially, should take note and warn their adherents of the underlying threat that this radical movement poses to our Judeo-Christian belief system and to all human life.

Isn’t God omnipotent? Surely our little rag-tag group of Animal Rights activists pose no real threat. Once again, Orsi needs to do some research. He has missed what is happening with regard to environmental degradation, especially what animal agriculture, corporate interests and and greed are doing to the natural world. Human overpopulation and a lack of responsibility towards the earth have led us to the brink of self extinction; the vegans and animal rights folks are trying to save the world, not destroy it. If Orsi truly worships the Being he believes is the Creator of this once-magnificent planet, it would seem he would need to treat the Creation with a bit more respect. Were we not supposed to tend the garden, rather than annihilate it?

An Unwillingness to Recognize Exploitation and Injustice Within the Church

Finally, Orsi thinks that people who are proponents of animal rights really value nonhuman animals over human beings; he fears these people and their movement pose a threat to the theory that humans are exceptional and dominant. If Orsi was willing to take the abject cruelty with which animals are treated into consideration, if he had taken any time to research these issues, it would be difficult to see how a man of a benevolent God could support such horrors towards other feeling beings.  If there are any threats to the Judeo-Christian legacy and his own Catholic church, it may be internal, rather than external.  Perhaps it comes from an unwillingness to recognize exploitation and injustice, whether it is in the form of pedophilia or animal cruelty or homophobia.  It is the very conservative, traditional vantage point behind which Orsi hides that will render him unable to witness the truth.  It is revealed when he states that animal welfare is acceptable because the laws have already made certain animals are treated humanely, that animals feel “as little anxiety and pain as possible” when being slaughtered. Rev. Orsi must be living under a rock, with all the undercover videos available these days, with the film Earthlings available for viewing online, with all the documentary films available on any Netflix site, and Meet Your Meat available on YouTube, with all the recorded statements from slaughterhouse workers, if he truly believes that. The global horror that is life for most animals on this earth seems to have escaped him. It would seem that Orsi simply does not want anything to change, because his foundation is inextricably intertwined with a belief that humans are superior and animals are put on earth for man’s use, however cruelly mankind wants to use them. If he were to admit that animals are beings who feel, experience emotions, and suffer greatly, it might cause him to reassess his beliefs. If his religious tradition is in jeopardy because a small percentage of humans believe that such injustice is intolerable, perhaps he needs to look for the numerous inconsistencies inherent in what he espouses. Where is the mercy of his God for the animals? What constitutes morality and superiority? Surely, this holocaust for animals created by mankind does not lay claim to any kind of moral superiority, but rather to shame.

I have studied population trends for several decades of both human and nonhuman animals. One thing is certain: as the human population has experienced geometric increase and growth, so has the number of animals slaughtered and killed annually. I set up a Google Alert to apprise me of any articles about overpopulation only to find that the articles  all related to animal overpopulation. There were articles related to the overpopulation of shelter animals, of deer, of rabbits, of birds and even bugs, everything but human beings, this even as many animal species are in danger of extinction. I guess it is all in  your perspective. And truly we are experiencing an ongoing problem with the high number of shelter animals that are killed day in and day out for lack of a decent home. I have been posting photos and articles about some of these animals and have been astounded at the reasons these animals become available: the owner does not have time any longer for him or her; the owner has had to move; the owner does not have the money to care for him or her; he or she was found abandoned on the street; the owner is getting divorced. Domesticating animals has really left millions of them high and dry, unsafe, hungry, injured, vulnerable and alone. We have used them and then, when we get tired of them or they are inconvenient or a burden, we toss them aside like yesterday’s news.

The commodification of animals takes many different shapes. There are the billions that are slaughtered for food every year, that are killed for their fur, and that are used in entertainment — the list goes on, but you probably already have a good idea of how long the list is. Today’s podcast is going to look at a very bizarre form of animal commodification: animals as decorations or ornaments, and like the holiday ornaments that get put away after the holidays end, so these animals get obliterated when they become too numerous, or their decorative value diminishes, or they get scapegoated because of someone else’s irresponsibility.

The first group of animentals I want to look at today are the Mute Swans of Chesapeake Bay.  Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. For decades, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources has been involved in a deadly game of eradicating the Mute Swans, alleging that they pose a threat to the ecosystem.  I  guess they are not considered part of the ecosystem because they are targeted as being non-native birds.  As a non-native human being, I grow rather weary of this point of origin nonsense. Where would I belong? Am I too non-native? I am first generation born in this land as was my husband, as is my grandson.  The birds may have been brought over by Europeans two hundred years ago to grace the waterways; in short, they were kidnapped and dragged here against their will and now, two hundred years later, we are going to tell them they do not belong?

The most recent statistic I found about the swans was that the Maryland Department of Natural Resources has already killed over 4,000 of the birds in cruel and terrible ways.  Celebrities have tried to save them from photographer Nigel Barker of America’s Top Model fame, Guns N Roses guitarist Slash, to television’s Montel Williams, all to no avail. Despite placing cruel and possibly dangerous tight colors on the necks of the birds with GPS devices, despite their labeling the birds non-native and therefore worthy of extermination, despite trying in various ways and failing to build a case that the swans pose any  threat to anyone, the swans continue to be mercilessly killed year after year.

There is another twist to this story, which takes us back to the same old tired horrific story. There is a link between the slaughter of the mute swans and the slaughter of pigs, cows and other animals for food. It seems that factory farms upriver are sending 500 million tons of waste into the Chesapeake Bay every year, along with some sewage treatment plants, creating dead zones and threatening the very life of the Chesapeake. But the folks who own those farms have a lot of money and a lot of power, and they are very invested in making the swans the scapegoats for the problems of the Chesapeake, so no one will look to see what is really going on.

It is not just the Mute Swans that are under attack, for when animals become objectified, they become property and “things” rather than individuals with feelings, the sentient beings they are, things are bound to go awry.

~~

One of the other problems for the rabbits on the University of Victoria campus is that they land in the gray zone that Susan Vickery spoke about, where they are not really wild animals but in so classifying them, they may be killed in ways that would be illegal were they classified as pets. The University has been known for the rabbits, the rabbits have graced their calendars and have been a draw to the public, but when the University grew tired of them, or they became too numerous, they became the brunt of many cruelties. Some locals have jokingly placed recipes for rabbit stew on their posts and others have suggested they serve as a way to eat locally.  The rabbits and the Mute Swans are only part of the picture, with flamingos, black swans, ducks, peacocks, and numerous other animals often purchased to grace a small body of water or grass in hotels, housing developments and resorts.  Many times, the birds may have their wings clipped so they cannot leave, making them vulnerable to predators and unable to live a normal life.  The habitat is usually inappropriate for the animals.  Like gardeners without green thumbs, the animals’ caretakers may need to restock frequently to keep up the facade that the business wishes to project.

Animals originally imported as animentals who have escaped to form wild breeding populations in the western US include snapping turtles, water snakes, Himalayan tahr, doves, parakeets, parrots, and many others.  Ornamental aquatic animals are part of an international business which places many animals of all kinds in inappropriate and unnatural habitats with little chance of survival and virtually no quality of life.

As an abolitionist, I know the best thing I can do for these animals is to maintain a vegan lifestyle and encourage others to do the same. As more vegans exist in the world, the use of animals as ornaments will become intolerable.  Meanwhile, if I see animentals in any facility, you can be sure I will be speaking to the management about those animals and letting them know that not all the public appreciate their attempt at creating a false and destructive environment for fellow earthlings.  As our voices become louder, these disturbing practices will die out.

Elizabeth Collins of NZVeganPodcast recently said that it will be a wonderful day when being human means being vegan.  That day is getting closer with each blog post, podcast, tweet and lecture.  Adam Kochanowicz recently created the iVegan ap so that vegans can shop more easily.  Adam has generously made the ap free of charge so that it can reach the most people. He also has some wonderful brochures available online at vegan.fm – look for the links on Veganacious.

There is another blog I wanted to mention, too – one created by Nathan Schneider. Vegan Abolitionist has some excellent articles on it, including one I just linked to on a forum that was lauding Veggie Pride parades. Nathan saved me a ton of time because his article had all the salient points listed in clear and concise manner. You can find Nathan’s blog at vegan-abolitionist.blogspot.com.

New on Veganacious is Veganacious/Recipes.  The recipe blog is accessible via the top navigating buttons on the veganacious blog, or you can go directly to veganacious.com/Recipes.

Another new project which will be a long time developing is the Vegans Directory. This directory is at vegansdirectory.com and will display international vegan businesses. While it is only in the preliminary stages, it will eventually allow interactive use, with comments and a rating system for the businesses.  If you know of any vegan businesses you would like to see included, please contact me at babs (at) animail (dot) com.

Music in this podcast was from Nabi Camara’s M’Soumbulle, highlighting his wonderful expertise with the balafon.

Montel Williams – Stop Killing the Chesapeakes Mute Swans

Animal Voices – Bunnies on a Deadline

iVegan on iTunes

Vegan FM brochures

Vegan Abolitionist

Nabi Camara – music

The Vegans Directory

Years ago, I was the only female on a project for the hookup and commissioning of an oil platform off the Southern California coast, north of Santa Barbara.  My job was onshore computer functions, technical support, and employee relations. Translation: I ran errands and took the men that were injured to the hospital., went and loaded steel plates in the back of the company truck, ran toilet paper out to the helicopter, went and selected their movies at the local movie rental place. And I took the heat when someone had to get fired, because the thinking was they were less likely to punch me in the nose than the next guy.  When I saw where I was going to be working, I was horrified.  The only bathroom in the heliport had a door that didn’t lock or close all the way and it was right where the men congregated to wait to get out to the platform. I immediately told my boss, “I will not drink any water until this project is over!” In a weird bit of coincidence, my boss and I had the exact same birthdate, same year, and same place. We were two little babies in those plastic beds on rollers, side by side, never knowing we would one day be reunited on a tragic mission of folly.

Hooking Up An Offshore Oil Platform

I went out on the helicopter to the platform a lot. Sometimes the helicopter pilot would ask me to come along to even out the load; other times it was just for company.  He said that flying a helicopter was about as interesting as running to the end of the street, running back, and repeating ad nauseum every day, every week, every year.  My son voiced fear about my flying on the helicopter but I told him not to worry. Sadly, before the end of the project, there was a fatal helicopter crash and all on board were killed. It seems helicopters are very unstable.  My son has always been wise beyond his years; he never even said, “I told you so!”

The platforms are like small cities way out in the water.  They operate in a way that is rather incredible, and because they are in the middle of the ocean, the winds and storms hit them hard with no land mass to soften the blow or break up the impact.   There were close quarters for sleeping and a roomy dining area with decent cuisine, a host of people working to take care of the men who were working to take care of the platform.  I remember asking why there was the rainbow sheen of oil on the water surrounding the platform, and was told that was just normal, it had nothing to do with the oil platform.   I was shocked to learn that when the oil rig is done pumping oil, they take the top off but leave the platform.  Abandoned old platforms were dotting the ocean, and it did not take the wildlife long to set up housekeeping on them. Still, it seemed rather rude to litter the landscape with cast off platforms. It seemed downright disrespectful.

The Controversy Over Oil Platforms and Petroleum Products in the Ocean

There had been a lot of controversy about the platforms for years, and I was on the side opposing them for environmental reasons.  But as a single mom, I desperately needed the job, with two growing sons and two hungry cats at home to support.  It meant an incredibly long commute but I signed up anyway. Planting a metal beast in the ocean is no small undertaking. Just fighting the “June Gloom” to get the guys out on the platform was a major task, with the fog making it impossible to fly much of the time.

One can of motor oil out there could do a lot of damage, because there is an entire world under that water. It may be a world with which most of us are unfamiliar, but it is an entire ecosystem nonetheless.  When I first heard about the BP spill, I felt for those men out there working and killed so unnecessarily. I felt for their families. But I was also very aware of all the damage and death that was going on beneath the water, so deep down that we humans have no idea what we just unleashed. There were already dead zones in the ocean, and much of the sea life has already been decimated. There is an island of plastics larger than Texas out in the ocean,  and all those plastic bits are degrading into smaller pieces, killing and destroying wildlife. A single plastic bag, caught in the wind, can end up in the ocean and fool a marine animal into thinking it is a jellyfish, an unlucky surprise that ends in death. I have seen dozens of photos of those plastic rings that keep six-packs together, with a living animal trapped in it.  If there is this huge island out there somewhere, I am always amazed that we humans aren’t cleaning it up. If every nation would just go get a few barges full, we could stop the disaster it is creating, but we don’t. We could all use cloth bags, but we don’t. We don’t see it so we don’t deal with it.  And the innocent animals keep paying the price for our passivity.

The Mission of Folly Completed – Death, Bankruptcy, Injury

At the end of the project on which I worked, the platform was installed, but the company I worked for went bankrupt. The helicopter pilots never got paid. My money went into getting my car in good shape for those long commutes – at the end of the project I was hit by a high school student who was too busy fighting with his girlfriend to watch the road; my car was totalled and I never recovered any of the investment I had put into the car. Men died on that platform. Animals die, too. With the leaking wells in NY leaking for 50 years, the ones in the Amazon, the ones in Niger delta…this one..the growing island of plastics and the ever increasing dead zones in the ocean….it seems as if we are determined to destroy every bit of wildlife on this earth.

Two words come to mind: destruction, and deception.  I have heard reports that BP has people pulling dead animals from the shores, lest people realize the full scope of this disaster.  But even if they left the carcasses, no human will ever fully realize the scope of the disaster.  It is the animals, both human and nonhuman, that will pay for this folly. I think of the men that died on the installation of the platform on which I worked, those that have died working for BP and other oil companies, the millions to billions of animals that will be consumed by the toxicity of the petroleum, by the plastics. I recently tweeted something about the spill and said Go Vegan. I received a nasty tweet back saying shame on me, there is nothing about veganism that has anything to do with the oil spill. I guess if you think veganism is about diet, then you are right. But to me, veganism is about non speciesist respect for life.  I cannot imagine abolitionist vegans invading another’s habitat so callously, treating workers so carelessly, and lying so cavalierly about being prepared. It is behavior unworthy of a vegan.  Abolitionist vegans in particular are respectful and non-violent towards animal life in all its many forms.  What really gets my knickers in a knot is hearing the PR ads that BP is putting out, repeatedly stating that they will “make this right.”  How can they? How can they give our children a healthy ocean again? How can they return the wetlands, the wildlife, the dolphins, pelicans and fish? They don’t even know how to get the oil out of the water and suggest using more toxic ways to deal with the disaster they created, like nuclear options or chemical disbursements – meaning more death and destruction for wildlife. Why is it that Kevin Costner, a mere movie actor, has developed a  machine to remove oil from water, yet none of the oil companies have? And none of them, til now, bought his? Mr. Costner had gone to our congress about this machine, but no one cared. Such passivity is indeed toxic.  Veganism is one answer to these many complex problems which at the root are a disassociation from the natural world of which we are all a part. The end result of our passivity is the ever increasing black waters.

Vegan Abolitionists to Know

Paola Aldana hosts video podcasts all about veganism and abolitionist animal rights. Not only is she a clear spoken vegan, but she is delightful as well. You can find Paola on Facebook and Twitter too. Be sure to subscribe to her podcasts; that way you are alerted via email whenever there is a new one available, and you never miss a thing.

Dr. Roger Yates is a professor of sociology who is also an animal rights legend. He is currently creator of Human NonHuman Relations and one of the hosts on Animal Rights Zone.  His podcasts are by the same name as his blog and are available on iTunes.

Music:

Harry Shearer’s Addicted to Oil

Adam Lambert’s Mad World

New Broadway Musical Cast Recording of Cabaret – Money

Clips:

Best of the Left podcast

Bill Maher – Real Time

Leonard Lopate’s Underreported

Paola Aldana’s You Tube videos

Roger Yates - On Human-Nonhuman Relations

Recommended Films:

Crude - a documentary review

Who Killed the Electric Car?

Aerial View of Oil Platform

Oil platform