We Are Next
If You Don’t Stand For Creatures That Have No Voice, You Become The Voiceless.
Imagine this; you’re locked into a cage just big enough around to encase your whole body. You’re laying on a hard ground surrounded by unbreakable walls. You’re physically abused by your captors, forced to do things against your will, and the only way out is literally being worked to death.
Now does that sound like a situation anyone should be put through?
Animal cruelty is wrong but I’m not going to waste the precious time that can be used to change the animal rights policies, or lack thereof, because I would hope that everyone already agrees with that. Instead, I want to delve into the neglect of animal rights in the United States and shine a light on all the things big corporate companies don’t want us to know or see.
One of the most complicated things about big corporate animal cruelty, besides not being able to stop it fully even with laws, is the fact that it is everywhere in our lives. Animal cruelty is the foundation of many products Americans mindlessly rely on.
The International Humane Society estimates around, “100,000–200,000 animals suffer and die just for cosmetics every year around the world.” It is very unrealistic to ask all of man-kind to be vegan and totally throw out the use of all animal products. But it is quite reasonable to ask people to avoid the products and services that are built on animal cruelty. I myself am not vegan or even vegetarian, but I do take the time (typically less than a minute) to research the products that I want to buy, as a very… very basic courtesy to a life that I may be standing up for.
In 2019, videos of a Fairlife Dairy Products farm, Fair Oaks Farm, were leaked online and many stores are refusing to sell and partake in this company’s profit because of their abuse and cruelty toward animals. In the videos, cows were seen kicked, thrown, hit, lying dead in the middle of the road, and forced to stand in the baking sun where it was over 100 degrees. Calves were also stripped away from their mothers, which resulted in critical malnourishment of the babies and severe separation depression in the mothers. These videos clearly show that Fairlife just wants to be the leading brand and they only care about the profit they make.
According to PETA, Canada Goose has reportedly trapped, killed, and skinned wild coyotes. The hood lining is covered in an innocent animal’s fur. The super cushiony and insulating body of the jacket is filled with the feathers of geese that have been strangled while plucked to death. And in more severe cases the naked geese are left alive and thrown back into the wild with little to no chance of survival.
All of that information is just one Internet search away, but I guess it is easier to remain ignorant and not have to make any conscious decisions.
That doesn’t even cover the baby bears that are being chained up with a metal collar, forcing them to stand on their hind legs for hours. Did you think the hind-leg-standing bears in the circus were just born to do that against their animal nature? And the pig in China that was forced to bungee jump for the purpose of entertaining the amusement park’s guests. And the rabbits that had their eyes burned away to test new chemicals to be put into a beauty product.
Yes, these animals will die anyway, so why does it matter how? Well, you are going to die anyway. Does that mean you want death by torture for yourself? Why does it matter what you chose to buy? One conscious choice leads to another, one choice can inspire another, one choice can inform another. It’s called the butterfly effect. Your conscious decisions are a part of a great chain reaction.
Formal policies against animal cruelty are already in place, and I am certainly not the first to shine a light on the issue, however, animal cruelty continues to happen and very few people are held accountable for their actions. But it is up to every individual to make conscious decisions. You can decide if you care or if you want to pretend you did not just read about the things your choices contribute to.
Works Cited
“About Cosmetics Animal Testing.” Humane Society International, 3 May 2019, www.hsi.org/news-media/about_cosmetics_animal_testing/.
“Disturbing Video Taken of Calf Abuse at Fair Oaks Farms — CNN Video.” CNN, Cable News Network, 7 June 2019, www.cnn.com/videos/business/2019/06/07/fair-oaks-animal-abuse-orig-ja-dbl.cnn-business.
“Step by Step, How Canada Goose Supports Killing Coyotes for Jackets.” PETA, 31 Mar. 2017, www.peta.org/features/coyotes-killed-for-canada-goose/.
TodayShow. “Grocery Stores Pull Popular Milk Brand from Shelves after ‘Disturbing’ Video Surfaces.” TODAY.com, 9 June 2019, www.today.com/food/fairlife-dairy-products-pulled-store-shelves-amid-animal-cruelty-controversy-t155783.
