Animal slaughter can never be ‘humane’
Re: “Risks associated with eating fruit and vegetables, too”, Have Your Say, January 10.
Robin Grant states: “I do, of course, accept that the killing of animals should be done as humanely as possible, and that regulations to ensure this happens must be rigorously enforced.”
This is every caring person’s wish. Sadly, it highlights one of our main concerns as it is an oxymoron to say “slaughter” and “humane” in the same sentence, as who is going to prevent the atrocities unstable workers inflict on animals used for food? Who will be monitoring the slaughter? Gentle animals are brought to slaughter after spending their lives in filthy, faeces- and vermin-filled sheds, often with multiple layers of ammonia-filled excreta, from previous flocks of chickens, ducks and turkeys.
Cattle are unnaturally fed to fatten, rather than kept healthy. Most of the “spent” dairy cows, animals and birds sent to slaughter are unwell and would never had lived long lives because of the appalling conditions they are forced to live in. Carnivores destroy far more plants than vegans, as the animals they eat are vegetarians. Of course, chemicals are used on plants, though much more detrimental ones are used on animals, including human antibiotics. Plants survive by naturally dispersing their seeds and by being planted in the right conditions, which admittedly are changing rapidly as we all experience the effects of progressive climate change.
Phil Cornelius
South Australia
