When I was growing up, I loved going to South Dakota for Thanksgiving. I ate all the foods that Americans will be eating this Thursday, and I loved it. One of the towns that we drove through was Willmar, Minnesota, home to Willmar Poultry Company, which hatches half of the turkeys bought for food in U.S. supermarkets. 600,000 baby turkeys, or poults, are hatched per week and then sold off to other large scale agribusinesses around the country. The U.S. Humane society report, which can be viewed at their website or read about at UPI.com alleges that Willmar Poultry Company may be in violation of some of the most basic legal and ethical responsibilities with regard to animal welfare and care.
Consider watching the video and decide for yourself whether you find it cruel. It contains strong content and caution should be used when viewing.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
How Many Dogs are Too Many?
I love dogs. I really do. But I think there are too many of them and they're often not treated or cared for. Take, for example, the five dogs which were housed in a porch area connected to a garage that recently burned down here in Madison. Fortunately, all five dogs were rescued. No abuse or neglect has been alleged, but why would someone house so many dogs in a porch? I don't know, but I did want to find out how many dogs you can own, and from the City of Madison's website it looks like you can have as many animals as you want in your home as long as they don't violate any of the city's other animal control ordinances or are, "on a scale objectionable to the adjacent property owners." So you can keep as many dogs as you want if your next door neighbors don't have a problem with it. Here is the city and county public health's department website on caring for dogs: http://www.publichealthmdc.com/environmental/animal/dog.cfm
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Wisconsin's Gun Deer Season Begins Today
According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, about 330,000 deer will be were taken by hunters last year (2009). The previous 5-year average, the article states, was an average of 492,000 deer killed per year. The season runs through Sunday, November 20th.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Chickens at the Madison Children's Museum
The chickens at the new Madison Children's Museum rooftop garden are apparently trying to escape. Ideally, I'd love for all animals to be free, and I think that in general animals have a right to not be treated as entertainment or learning tools, which is what is happening at MCM.
You might ask, what do I think about zoos? I don't like them, but I think they are a necessary evil. Zoos serve as protection of animals who are hurt or endangered. I definitely don't think that zoos should contain animals which are not endangered, such as goats (why do zoos have goats but rarely horses or cows?).
What do I think about pets? I think that pets should be kept only in certain cases: when they are rescued, when being released would be a danger to the environment, people or themselves, when they are properly controlled (yes, I support population control for animals as well as humans), and in cases when they directly benefit an individual such as a companion or service animal or seeing-eye dog. I do not like keeping animals as bomb sniffers, drug dogs, police horses, or circus animals. I am totally against the sale and breeding of dogs.
What about keeping animals to eat or to provide some other food or resource such as wool? Like I said, I ideally think animals should be free and not used for food, clothing, or other things.
What other treatment of animals do I consider inappropriate? Culling, testing and research, genetic engineering, transportation, decoration, and the list goes on. I'm pretty much in favor of coexisting with animals in ways that are not harmful or unnecessarily restrictive.
In any case, it appears to me that as long as we cage, contain, and control animals we have to deal with the ethical consequences that result, including when chickens try to escape their coops by jumping off of a five story building (as the article indicates, the chicken that did this was fortunately not injured).
You might ask, what do I think about zoos? I don't like them, but I think they are a necessary evil. Zoos serve as protection of animals who are hurt or endangered. I definitely don't think that zoos should contain animals which are not endangered, such as goats (why do zoos have goats but rarely horses or cows?).
What do I think about pets? I think that pets should be kept only in certain cases: when they are rescued, when being released would be a danger to the environment, people or themselves, when they are properly controlled (yes, I support population control for animals as well as humans), and in cases when they directly benefit an individual such as a companion or service animal or seeing-eye dog. I do not like keeping animals as bomb sniffers, drug dogs, police horses, or circus animals. I am totally against the sale and breeding of dogs.
What about keeping animals to eat or to provide some other food or resource such as wool? Like I said, I ideally think animals should be free and not used for food, clothing, or other things.
What other treatment of animals do I consider inappropriate? Culling, testing and research, genetic engineering, transportation, decoration, and the list goes on. I'm pretty much in favor of coexisting with animals in ways that are not harmful or unnecessarily restrictive.
In any case, it appears to me that as long as we cage, contain, and control animals we have to deal with the ethical consequences that result, including when chickens try to escape their coops by jumping off of a five story building (as the article indicates, the chicken that did this was fortunately not injured).
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