Setting the Record Straight

I would like to set the record straight. I am not a member of PETA. and I am not a vegetarian. Some may say that I am a hypocrite because I eat meat. My response to this crowd is I have no shame in saying I am a carnivore. I was raised on steak and potatoes and I happily obliged my mother in my consumption of her meals. I do however respect ALL living things. I believe in the fair and ethical treatment of animals and they deserve to be respected. Most especially if we plan to consume them later. It is the least we can do!

Back in the day, animals were raised on farms. Every animal group they raised had their very own living area; the chickens, the pigs, the cows, the sheep, etc. The problems these days is greed. Yes, I understand consumption has gone up due to the population explosion worldwide. Nevertheless, the process in which the animals we consume has been taken over by factory breeding supposedly to meet this demand. It is sickening to witness the living conditions these animals have to endure for our sake. It does not have to be this way. Thank goodness for the few remaining farmers who maintain the fair and ethical treatment of their farm animals. I would also like to say thank you to The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) undercover volunteer that exposed the atrocious treatment of downer cows at a slaughterhouse here in Los Angeles. Because of HSUS efforts and many who signed the petition a law was successfully passed to prevent companies from committing malpractice.

Waste was never a thought for every indigenous culture around the world. When the life of a buffalo was taken for the sake of the tribe, everything on that buffalo was used and the meat that wasn't consumed at that moment was stored for the winter. These indigenous cultures understood and respected the natural order of all living things. The tribes didn't go and kill a dozen buffalos so they can market the parts to other tribes. The problem with our society today is people live to eat instead of eating to live and take MORE than their share for profits sake at whatever cost and whoever's expense ERGO atrocious treatment of animals and the extinction of animals.

Let me give you a good example, shark finning! The Chinese fishermen capture sharks with spears, pull them into their boats and CUT OFF their FINS. Afterwards, they dump the sharks body back into the ocean to die. They don't even have the DECENCY to kill the shark before finning them. The shark either bleeds to death in the ocean or drowns to death without their fins. The Chinese fishermen don't even bother considering marketing the shark meat. Their logic and reasoning is their boats only have enough room for FIN CARGO and NOT the entire shark. THAT'S WASTE IN ACTION! For those of you who have never heard about shark finning, the chinese culture has made SHARK FIN SOUP a popular delicacy! Just ONE bowl of shark fin soup cost $200. Wikipedia states, "As a luxury item, the dish is also considered a symbol of wealth and prestige in Chinese culture." The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society estimates 100 MILLION sharks are finned and left to drown in the ocean every year! Sharks are a vital player in the ocean food chain. Sharks are on the verge of extinction. If this very important species disappears, who knows what the end result will be for us!

Another example of senseless killing and waste I would like to share with you is the elephant slaughter for thier tusk! Poachers in Africa, India and China will kill as many male elephants as they can just to remove their ivory tusk for trade. The elephants huge body is just left there to rot. According to the Internationl Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), "Following decades of unrelenting slaughter of elephants for their ivory, the ivory trade was banned in 1989 by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in response to international pressure from the conservation community, including IFAW. Yet, in 1997, CITES agreed to partially lift the ban, down-listing the status of elephants in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia so that those countries could export ivory stockpiles in a one-time sale to Japan."

One final note for those of you who love to hunt and kill wild animals. When I was a kid my family used to go up to the creek and create a makeshift shooting range using aluminum cans for targets. As I grew older we became more creative hanging items on tree limbs. We had loads of fun sharpening our shooting skills. Why do you find it necessary to use wild animals for target practice? I seriously would like to know what feeling, what rush you get out of killing a living thing for sport? These days, we now have high tech shooting ranges that can quell that desire to shoot things. These shooting ranges offer skeet shootings for those of you who like to shoot moving targets. The NRA offers shooting range services if you would like more information. If you cannot afford to become a member of a shooting range, then please consider using inanimate objects as an alternative and use your creativity.

What has ALWAYS puzzled me are pro-life people ready and willing to defend and protect a human embryo that doesn't even belong to them. However these same PRO-LIFE people find it okay, no problem, nothing WRONG with shooting and killing a LIVING BREATHING ANIMAL just for the fun of it?!?!?! Wouldn't this be considered an OXYMORON? or How about hypocrisy?