Animal Rights

Teitsma 1
Annette
Professor Jason Mallory, Ph.D.
PHI 2600 Ethics 4 Dec. 2012
Factory Farming is Unethical and Should be Illegal
Animal rights are practically nonexistent in farming livestock today. Factory farming animals is a prime example of just how inhumanly animals are treated in our society every day all over the world. When we think about farms, we think about chickens pecking corn from the grass free roaming around a farm, cows out to pasture grazing in the fields, and pigs frolicking in the mud. But the reality is that farming has changed, and animals are suffering inconceivably. Before the turn of the century husbandry was a well know word in the agricultural industry. But today, farmers now regularly practice what they call “confinement.” Chickens are kept in small, cramped cages neglected of the ability to even stretch their wings. Their beaks are chopped off to prevent them from pecking at other chickens or their eggs, leaving them in pain for the rest of their lives. Most are so stressed that they lose their feathers and are left bald and cold. The vast majority of swine are kept in severe confinement as well. The sow will spend practically her entire reproductive life in a gestation crate 2 feet wide by 7 feet long by 3 feet high. This concrete and barred cage leaves no room for the sow to turn, and the cement floors cause severe foot and leg problems. Often, they will go mad, exhibiting compulsive behaviors such as chewing on the bars. Veal calves are also treated in such a manner and perhaps the worst of all because these animals are kept in such confinement that they cannot even turn around, or even get up or lie down freely. This form of confinement prevents the growth of unpalatable muscle. They are also made anemic and refrained from roughage to keep their flesh pale, since white veal
Teitsma 2 procures a higher price. (Singer 162) All of these incredibly abusive practices are performed on animals as a means to satisfy the simple interests of our own.
This treatment of animals is not only unethical but inhumane and should, in my opinion, be illegal. It’s not necessary to raise animals in severe confinement and re-instituting the practice of husbandry by banning high confinement agriculture, is the only ethical answer to Animal Factory Farming. Just because the human consumption of meat will never cease, it doesn’t mean that we need to lose sight of the basic fundamental values of treating others like we would want to be treated, human or not. We live in a society where we strive to take care of the needy, feed the poor, and bless those that are less fortunate by donating or providing care for those who can 't take care of themselves. How is it that we can 't see the need to treat animals with the simple decency of a humane life and proper care?
Confinement Agriculture is Unethical and Should Be Illegal
We don’t need, nor ought, to mistreat animals and allow them to suffer just to meet the demands of our ever changing society. As the population increases, the demand for meat production definitely increases. Should the competition to keep the prices of meat low, and our profits high, outweigh or moral compasses to remain compassionate to living beings? With so many alternatives and resources for protein, such as soy beans or other high protein vegetables, why should we resort to animal cruelty such as extreme confinement to meet the public’s demands for low cost meat? Can we not afford to pay a little more in order to help put an end to factory farming and bring back our old ways of husbandry agricultural farming? At the turn of the century our society spent more than 50 percent of our income on food. Today we spend a mere average of 11 percent of our annual income on food. (Rollin 5) I think it 's unthinkable to ignore costs paid by animal welfare. It 's certainly not necessary to raise animals
Teitsma 3 with any form of abuse to put a few extra dollars in our pockets. With the luxuries that we live with today, I believe we can afford to give up a few wants in order to make changes necessary to defend the abused and provide them with decent and comfortable living environment. When productivity and the need for wealth become the main priority, the welfare of the animal is overlooked or completely ignored. If we, for example, kept a dog in a small cage its entire life, with no room to turn around, incapable of lying down, on a cement slab with no other means to sustain life, other than food and water, would you not consider this a form of animal abuse? Would you not expect there to be some form of prosecution? How is it then that we have become so desensitized to these types of abuse as it relates to farm animals? If pigs have been tested to have an equivalent IQ to dogs then why can 't they be protected with the same animal rights as the animals we consider to be our pets? So, if it 's illegal to treat our dogs and cats with such treatment as chopping off their tails without anesthetic, keep them in small, cramped cages so they have no room to move or even lie down, deny them of all individual attention and mutilate them to fit unnatural environments, then why I must ask, are we so willing to except these forms abuse on livestock?
Bringing Back Husbandry
Farmers have gradually lost sight of Husbandry, where they raised animals in their natural environment. They would protect them from predators, give them food and water and provide an environment in which they could thrive. In those days, they felt that any harm or suffering that would come to the animals resulted in harm to themselves. The farmer/producer can be successful if and only if the animal does well. Therefore, proper care and treatment of animals was both an ethical and necessary means. (Rollin 3) This form of farming is mutually beneficial to both the farmer and the animal.

Teitsma 4
I understand that farming has been changing as technology offers new systems for rearing, raising and handling animals but I don 't agree with how these new technologies have enabled the producers to be so desensitized that they have resorted to so such practices as the Confinement methods of factory farming. These farming practices have also empowered large factory farming companies to move in and destroy small farms and local communities. Because of industrialization and these large farming technologies, the small husbandry-base producers can 't keep up or stand a chance in competing with these animal factories. Husbandry agriculture also brings natural balance to the earth. By allowing livestock such as cows, pigs, or even chickens to roam freely to pasture, it allows manure to fertilize the ground. When we take that away, as in the industrial animal agriculture, farmers will use the land simply for grain production thus draining the soil of nutrients and encouraging soil erosion by continuous tilling. Also by removing the animals from pastures we create a problem of an abundance of manure and where to dispose of it. High confinement environments also create high ammonia levels making it unsafe for both workers and animals. (Rollins 5) Bringing back husbandry-based farming eliminates of all these negative issues.
One might argue all of these points by stating that we can 't revert back to husbandry-base agricultural farming because we won 't be able to keep up with the supply and demand. Without factory farming and industrialized agriculture, prices would spike making it much more difficult to afford meat prices. People in favor of factory farming might argue that if confinement places stress or harm on the animal then it wouldn’t be productive. They might also argue that these animals shouldn 't be treated as pets because they 're not, and say that the farmers, ranchers, and livestock producers that are currently participating in industrial factory farming do care about raising the animals in humane conditions.

Teitsma 5
Their idea of humane conditions and my idea of humane conditions would be two totally different ideals. Productivity doesn’t define whether stress is placed on the animal or not. Technology has paved a way to create an environment where enormous numbers of animals are being raised in very small, compact areas. The sheer numbers of livestock able to cope with these horrible conditions and high stress levels, struggle through the pain and will outnumber those that don’t cope and suffer with their lives before being sent off to slaughter. Animals that get sick are killed and disposed of rather than given proper vet care and rehabilitated. We really need to think about what ought to be regulated and just what measures need to be taken to eliminate the mistreatment of farm raised animals. Just because they aren’t living as pets doesn’t mean they should lose their rights to be treated humanely. We also need to take a closer look at the impact industrialized farming has had on the environment and the animals that are raised in it. Bringing husbandry-based ideals back into farming will not only benefit the animal but it will also benefit the environment. Ignoring the price that animals are paying by pure suffering to decrease our food costs and increase productivity is unethical and unfortunately, in my point of view, tells us just how self-serving we as a species can be. If we need to pay more for food in order to prevent animal abuse, then so be it. We need to stand up for those who can 't speak for themselves and institute more laws on factory farming, especially those banning high confinement agriculture. Farm animals have the same right to decent and humane treatment as our pets. Pain and suffering shouldn 't be inflicted on any living being merely as a pure means to serve our needs, and I believe that all animals should be treated fairly, humanely and protected and enforced by the law. As Mahatma Gandhi said, a society must ultimately be morally judged by how it treats its weakest members. No members are more vulnerable and dependent that our society’s domestic animals. (Rollins 5)

Works Cited
"Factory Farm Animals Are Treated Humanely." Is Factory Farming Harming America? Ed. Stuart A. Kallen. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. At Issue. Rpt. from "Understanding 'Animal Rights ' Vs. 'Animal Welfare," agednet.com. 2004. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 29 Nov. 2012.
Rollin, Bernard E. "Factory Farming Is Unethical." Animal Rights. Ed. Shasta Gaughen. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Contemporary Issues Companion. Rpt. from "Farm Factories." Christian Century 118 (Dec. 2001): 26. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 29 Nov. 2012.
Singer, Peter “Animals and Environmentalism.” Animals Are Equal, from Animal Liberation by Peter Singer.

Cited: "Factory Farm Animals Are Treated Humanely." Is Factory Farming Harming America? Ed. Stuart A. Kallen. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. At Issue. Rpt. from "Understanding 'Animal Rights ' Vs. 'Animal Welfare," agednet.com. 2004. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. Rollin, Bernard E. "Factory Farming Is Unethical." Animal Rights. Ed. Shasta Gaughen. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Contemporary Issues Companion. Rpt. from "Farm Factories." Christian Century 118 (Dec. 2001): 26. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. Singer, Peter “Animals and Environmentalism.” Animals Are Equal, from Animal Liberation by Peter Singer.