I noted in November that COVID 19 was causing mink culls in Denmark, where raising mink is a big industry. (I would have thought Scandinavians were nicer than that!)
I see via Washington Post that the industry is also significant in (of all places) Wisconsin; and mink farmers there are getting vaccinated ahead of the likes of flight attendants, teachers and others.
As with Denmark, there is Youtube PR material by mink farmers emphasising how humane they are, all while showing that the animals seem to live their entire lives in cages that seem pretty damn small to me, given the size of the animal:
Wouldn't we think a cat, an animal about the same size, and perhaps of similar mammalian intelligence, is not being treated humanely if raised for its entire live in a cage like that? And wouldn't a shed full of cats so raised cause a lot of concern? But mink get a pass for confinement, it seems.
There is no doubt, it would seem, that they are well fed (in order to preserve the quality of the fur); but it's a pretty dull life, no?
I agree absolutely 100%. And I'm hoping you focus your attention on this side of the ledger. To make us all vegetarians at this time, or worse still vegans, would be an inter-generational catastrophe for the human race. Maybe at some future distant date, when our soils are rich and dark, going down 5 metres, and have been fertilised thoroughly with seaweed and rock dust, then we can bring our meat consumption right down.
ReplyDeleteBut for now our priority must be to respect these animals while they are alive. Respect the pigness of the pig. The cowness of the cow. The chickenness of the chicken. The minkness of the mink.
These living arrangements are NOT okay ethically. That is where the focus should lie. Getting rid of the really big slaughterhouses and making sure that the animals live a life relatively in keeping with the life that nature intended for them.
He calls that a farm. Thats not a farm. Thats a concentration camp. I just find this sickening. If you want to do it do it right and give them big paddocks, chicken wire, and shelters that they can retire to WHEN THEY WANT TO. I think its disgusting. I can't stand it.
ReplyDeleteHere is where zero interest loans can be given to these guys to bring their act to a more natural place.