Every year in the USA, about 39 million cattle and calves are slaughtered for beef. With cattle being slaughtered at this high of a rate, things are bound to go wrong and animals are bound to be treated poorly. However, that doesn’t mean that Americans can not do something about it. There are many ways that cattle are treated unethically, and it starts with how they are raised. The most concerning ethical issues occur during the slaughter process,which includes the transportation to, and conditions at the slaughterhouse. How cattle are being raised on factory farms has become a growing issue in America the past couple of decades. In fact about 99% of all farm animals raised in the US are raised on factory farms (ASPCA). Clearly this is a …show more content…
This next step is everything that goes on at the slaughterhouse, but the first thing that needs to be addressed is what goes on on the kill floor. The kill floor is the main thing that people think about when they think of the slaughter process. This is where the cattle are physically brought into the building, lined up, and then killed. This is usually done by a .22 pistol that shoots a retractable rod into the head, and then retracts back into the gun so that a bullet projectile doesn’t affect the meat. This has been deemed the most humane way to kill cattle because, if done right, kills the cattle immediately. But, of course, many large slaughterhouses don’t take their time in shooting the animal, so they aren’t killed on impact. Sometimes it can take up to 4 or 5 shots in order to kill the animal and that causes great pain and agony among the animals. But, sometimes at the larger slaughterhouses used for factory farms, they don’t bother with shooting the animals again because it is a waste of time and money in order to keep shooting the animals and reloading the pressure on the gun. So, not only is the animal suffering at the time that it is shot, but also for quite some time after while it is pushed along to the next step in the slaughter process. Not only do large slaughterhouses not take their time in shooting the cattle to assure that they are dead, but they also just shove them all in this huge holding pen while they wait in line to be killed. The animals get stressed out and they are very uncomfortable while waiting for their
It is not just the animals who are being treated wrongly. The workers are vulnerable and suffer from injuries on a daily basis. This workforce requires so much protection, such as chainmail outfits to protect themselves from tools. From cuts, sprains, to amputations, “ The injury rate in a slaughterhouse is about three times higher than the rate in a typical American factory.” (238). Many immigrants come to the states, some illegally. Companies give their supervisors bonuses when they have little reported injuries as a reward for a spectacular job. Regardless, these supervisors do not make attempts to make the work environment safer. They threaten the employees with their jobs. They will put injured employees on easier shifts to heal so it will not look suspicious as to why they are in pain. Next to failing to report injuries, women in the slaughterhouses suffer from sexual assault. Male coworkers pressure women into dating and sex. Reported cases include men using animal parts on them in an explicit manner, making work another kind of nightmare. All this corruption and lack of respect for workers is all for a cheap meal people buy when they have the
Over 98% of all animals raised for food in the United States comes from factory farms which use inhumane methods to ensure a steady food production. Animals raised in
The use of horses for human consumption dates back to the earliest use of animals for human consumption. Horses are used for food in many counties but are also considered inhumane in other countries. In the United States specifically, horsemeat is not the norm for consumed meat. There seems to be a problem that has arisen. It is suspected that horses being slaughtered at horse slaughtering factories are not the most up to date, pain free for the horse, and human as people suspect them to be like beef kill floors. There are many pros and cons to horse slaughter that accompany the pressure groups on each side of horse slaughter. Another big controversy with horse slaughter is the argument of legalizing horse slaughter and what those details will entail in the law.
More than 100,000 U.S horses are sent to slaughter each year for their meat. The meat is then shipped overseas to Europe for human consumption. Horse slaughter is a big issue in the equine community. Many people in the equine community say it’s inhuman by the way the horses are killed, but many equestrians also say its moral due to population control. so which is it, is horse slaughter bad or good? This report will look at what horses usually go to slaughter, how the U.S and other countries view horses, how different people view horses and what would happen if slaughter ended.
In a review the website writes that “Slaughterhouse is the first book in which workers in the meat industry speak publicly about what is actually taking place in America’s slaughterhouses.” This particular book shined light to the graphic and very disturbing facts that factory farms are providing all types of products at the expense of the lives of innocent animals. The book is able to bring forth evidence and enticing information that is hard to miss by the reader because at one point or another, this matter was meant to come to light. The review goes further in illustrating “Eisnitz 's investigation with a single complaint from a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) worker alleging that cattle there are having their heads skinned while fully conscious. This single complaint becomes a full-scale, groundbreaking investigation.” Slowly but steadily, Eisnitz was able to figure the puzzle out and attract the attention of individuals and organizations who are particularly found of advocating for animal rights. The book itself had testimonies from workers who would deliberately beat, “strangle, boil, or dismember animals alive. Today’s slaughter line does not stop for anything: Not for injured workers, not for contaminated meat, and least of all, not for sick or disabled animals.” This is the driving force of individuals who have no other
There is no humane way to raise beef cattle to meet the world's growing demand. Let's take a look at one of the biggest beef based corporations in the world, Tyson. Tyson slaughters and packages 170,938 cattle every day! That number is not including any other of the corporations who are
Animal rights are practically non-existent in many different ways today. Factory farming is probably the worst thing they can do to the poor helpless animals. Factory farming effects chickens, cows, pigs, and many other animals that are used for food, milk and eggs. One of the biggest organizations against factory farming is called Compassion Over Killing (COK). They go to great lengths to protest and inform people about animal cruelty.
In “Crimes Unseen” Dena Jones illustrates farm animal suffering through many sources. She suggests Americans are not conscious of terrible acts and circumstances before slaughter occurs, but should be concerned. Society removes the reality that meat was living and capable of being scared and hurt. Laws for less painful death have been in place and had modifications; however, previous improvements from changes are speculatory due to lack of available information gathered. There are many examples of disregard for living beings and the laws protecting them. Workers, desensitized over time, show minimal concern for contaminants and none for animal well-being. Ultimately, increasing quantity and speed of animals killed leads to unwarranted suffering by improper stunning, skinning, gassing, and electrocuting. While seemingly improvements have been made, enforcing loose laws with limited support proves difficult. Furthermore, if cattle standards have been rais...
For as long as there have been horse slaughterhouses in the United States, they have been an issue of controversy (Associated Press State and Local Wire, 8/7/01). Currently, only two slaughterhouses that produce horse meat intended...
Animals trapped in factory farms are severely abused and tortured from birth to death. Chickens sometimes will be starved for up to 2 weeks and given no water to shock their bodies into moulting, chickens and hens will have their beaks removed to prevent fighting between other animals. Pigs will get their tails cut off to stop other pigs biting them off. These cruel procedures are done to minimise as few of animals dying as possible so more product can be created by the farmer. Within factory farms, animals are abused with overuse of antibiotics to prevent disease and maximise their body growth to create a higher yield of product. According to Animal Rights Action, 2 out of 3 farms are now factory farmed worldwide and factory farming is only increasing this is leading to more animals being raised for slaughter, abused and tortured, mentally and physically. This is not fair. How would you feel losing your child minutes after it's born? As within factory farms, female cows get their calves are taken away from them within minutes they are born never to be seen again. This leaves these poor female cows depressed which causes them to lose weight and because of this are slaughtered as farmers want to maximise their yield of
Like many other industries, the farming industry has evolved into big business, “Animals on factory farms are regarded as commodities to be exploited for profit.” In each industry from clothing to instruments, the bosses want to make a profit. The more they can supply with the least amount of waste, the more profit they make. The same goes for factory farming. However instead of humans being the ones directly affected by big bosses, the animals are. They don’t have a voice, and can’t stand up for what is right or wrong. These animals are manipulated in every way to make a better profit. Factory farms mass produce animals for ...
Factory farms have portrayed cruelty to animals in a way that is horrific; unfortunately the public often does not see what really goes on inside these “farms.” In order to understand the conditions present in these factory farms, it must first be examined what the animals in these factory farms are eating. Some of the ingredients commonly used in feeding the animals inside factory farms include the following: animal byproducts, plastic, drugs and chemicals, excessive grains, and meat from members of the same species. (Adams, 2007) These animals are tortured and used for purely slaughter in order to be fed on. Typically large numbers of animals are kept in closed and tight confinements, having only little room to move around, if even that. These confinements can lead to suffocation and death and is not rare. Evidence fr...
"Factory Farming: Cruelty to Animals." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Web. 29 April. 2014.
The animals that are raised in factory farms, and the farms are ran just like any other business. According to the article Factory Framing, Misery of Animals, the factory farming industry strives to maximize output while minimizing cost, always at the animal’s expense. “The giant corporations that run most factory farms have found that they can make more money by squeezing as many animals as possible into tiny spaces, even though many of the animals die from disease or infection” (Factory Farming). This is actually quit disgusting that we eat food that walks around in each other’s feces and can attract disease. These animals live a life of abuse, but we sit back and say it’s okay because we will eventually eat them. “Antibiotics are used to make animals grow faster and to keep them alive in the unsanitary conditions. Research shows that factory farms widespread use of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threatens human health” (Factory Farming). These animals aren’t treated with proper care and we act as if they are machines. Chickens for example, become so big and distorted that their legs can longer support them. Eventually they die because they can longer walk to get food or water. According to Factory Farming, most of these animals have been genetically manipulated to grow larger and to produce more eggs and milk than they naturally
Cows are naturally very gentle and calm creatures. These smart and sweet natured animals have been known to go to great lengths to escape slaughterhouses. More than forty-one million of these sensitive animals suffer and die a painful death each year in the United States. When cows are still very young they are burned with hot irons, there testicles are torn or cut off, all without painkillers. Most beef cattle are born in one state, live in another, and are slaughtered in another. The cows who survive the gruesome transportation process are shot in the head with a bolt gun, hung upside down by there legs, and taken onto the killing floor where there throats