Patrick J Battuello

Archive for the ‘Pigs’ Category

Can You Hear the Squeals?

In Animal Rights Activists, Factory Farming, Pigs on July 19, 2011 at 12:37 pm

Mercy For Animals (MFA) went undercover at Iowa Select Farms (the nation’s 4th largest producer) from April-June 2011 and found this…

Iowa Select issued a statement the day after the video’s release. Citing their “long-standing commitment to animal welfare,” they claim to have begun an investigation “into the portions of the video that show unacceptable animal handling.” They have also hired an “animal behavior and well-being researcher” from Iowa State “to provide additional consultation to deal with specific actions depicted in the video that do not reflect Iowa Select’s commitment to animal welfare.” That said, their senior staff veterinarian, Howard Hill, is “deeply troubled” by the inaction of the investigator, saying that even though Iowa Select bears “ultimate responsibility…video-taping abuse instead of reporting it is indefensible.”

The first part of the statement is standard damage control: First, assure that this is rare and unacceptable. Second, promise swift disciplinary action (including a conspicuous firing or two). And third, pledge ongoing husbandry improvements. This section should just be copied and circulated in CAFO circles, for it is that familiar. Hill’s censure, though, practically leaves one speechless. Imagine the arrogance in rebuking the MFA activist for not meeting his “ethical obligation” to stop (and report) the abuse when said abuse happened on the fine doctor’s watch. Howard Hill and Iowa Select are in no position to lecture on ethics. These undercover investigators display uncommon courage and restraint in striving for a greater good. They are the true animal advocates, not Veterinarian Hill.

This is well-traveled territory…

MFA
COK
HFA
HSUS

There exists an implied compact between agribusiness and government. The former, hellbent on keeping processing particulars from the public, has proposed Ag-Gag bills (to criminalize these investigations) in a handful of states (NY and Iowa included). The latter, through a gaping void in animal protection policy (livestock is not covered under the AWA; no regular welfare inspections, federal or state, of American farms) and woeful enforcement of anticruelty laws (arrests – usually resulting from these videos – rare, convictions rarer, misdemeanor-level fines and probations common), is protecting large financial interests (the meat industry expended $6.2 million on federal lobbying in 2008). And by consistently deferring to common industry practice, the judicial system ensures a virtual firewall against successful prosecution.

Phil Niles was the only person associated with NY’s Willet Dairy to be arrested, charged, and punished (small fine, no animal contact for one year) for this. And Billy Joe Gregg Jr. was held solely responsible for the recorded cruelty at Conklin Dairy in Ohio. He received a mere eight months and no animal contact for three years. Regarding Willet, the Cayuga County DA said: (The Post-Standard, 3/25/11) “In short, this team of industry experts found the condition of the animals to be well above industry standards for health and well-being. The experts indicated findings of a high level of care and animal husbandry being practiced by Willet Dairy.” If Willet is providing a “high level of care,” doesn’t this suggest systemic abuse, closely guarded and staunchly defended, on all factory farms? And is it any wonder why cynicism pervades the animal rights community?

Eating Dogs

In Animal Rights Philosophy, Dogs, Pigs on June 7, 2011 at 1:00 pm

From China, word comes of a confrontation between animal advocates and a trucker hauling 520 dogs to slaughter. The man was eventually persuaded (200 protesters and 15 hours later) to sell his cargo at a loss. It did not escape some that it was a Mercedes driver who initially forced the truck off the road. One angry human advocate even posted threats to kill a dog per day until the canine rescuers donated money to poor people instead. The Washington Post quotes the trucker as saying, “I still don’t understand what was immoral about my shipment. People also eat cow and sheep. What’s the difference? They were just a group of rich bullies who own pets and have nothing better to do.” As China’s economy has grown, so has pet ownership and a new sensibility on animals. Still, buying dogs for the home (as opposed to the plate) is viewed as a luxury for the haves. Class warfare, Chinese style.

Though dog may, in fact, be cheaper than pork, the indignant working-man need not resent those who can afford more expensive cuts; they can simply become vegetarians. In other words, if there is classism at play (and those Beijing advocates who continue to eat pigs while liberating dogs are probably being classist), it is largely self-imposed. Furthermore, the belief that vegetarianism (veganism) is only for the affluent self-righteous is misinformed or, worse, a rationalization meant to absolve the holder of any personal responsibility.

Controversial issues are rarely black and white. But in this case, an either/or clearly applies: If this (picture gallery on Chinese dogs) is wrong, then so is this, and this. Either all of it, or none of it. The dog pictures are, admittedly, a bit more shocking because I can imagine my three rescues hanging on those hooks; the forms and faces are uncomfortably familiar. But I also realize that emotional attachments can cloud rational thinking. The 10 billion animals slaughtered annually in America are not offered a chance to be our friends. They could be though. As a test, visit an animal sanctuary. The pigs (and many other species), you will soon discover, are intelligent and sensitive; they have personalities. Just like our dogs and cats.

To be sure, the lack of animal welfare standards in the land of Buddha is appalling (though some are trying to change that), and any effort to bring a measure of kindness to a dog’s wretched existence should be commended. But until Westerners (and any nonvegetarian Chinese protesters) get their own houses in order, they lack a moral authority to rebuke those who eat canines (roughly 10 million annually in China alone). Some meateaters argue that man is an apex predator acting in concert with nature. At least they have staked a position, misguided though I think it is. But most choose to ignore the issue altogether, either nonsensically complaining that it is too disturbing to contemplate, or comforting themselves with abstract notions of ethical standards and watchdog agencies. But this is, forgive the analogy, like turning away while the Auschwitz trains roll by.

To paraphrase Darwin, any difference between a pet animal and a livestock animal is one of degree, not of kind. Certainly, no rational distinction can be drawn between a pig and a dog. Once the outrage over these dog pictures subsides, a simple truth emerges: there is no valid reason to spare one and not the other.

Stealing Organs: The Immorality of Xenotransplantation

In Animal Experimentation, Baboons, Monkeys, Pigs, Xenotransplantation on August 4, 2010 at 11:04 am

“We have to be frank about this: We are exploiting these pigs.” (Dr. David White, former director of research at Imutran in England)

“Generally speaking, our society and our government is at least giving the impression that it’s becoming more sensitive to the welfare needs of animals and we all hope that sensitivity and compassion will develop. But with xenotransplantation, it’s a sort of massive blow to that sense of progression. It’s a step into the Dark Ages. It may look really nice and scientific and clean, but in terms of what we’re actually doing to animals, it’s barbaric.” (Dr. Dan Lyons, expert on British animal research policy)

Xenotransplantation is the transfer of cells, tissues, or whole organs from one species to another. More specifically, animal parts harvested for the good of humanity. The technology is not, at present, practical. Xenozoonoses (infectious diseases transmitted to the recipient, perhaps an AIDS II), hyperacute rejection (the immune system attacking the new organ as foreign), and infections (the immunosuppressive drugs, designed to combat rejection, leave the body susceptible) are not so insignificant hurdles.

The first kidney xenografts (from chimps) were reported in 1963, and a year later the first heart (chimp again) was xenotransplanted. The longest cardiac success came in 1984 with the Baby Fae case. Baby Fae received a baboon heart at infancy and survived for three weeks. Ironically, Time ran an essay by Charles Krauthammer in which he decried the exploitation of the baby (the surgeons, knowing it would fail, used her as a guinea pig), not the baboon. In 1984, the modern animal rights movement was in its nascent stage. There were protests, but the debate was largely over Baby Fae’s dignity and the biological integrity of the human race.

In the late 1990’s, Imutran (a subsidiary of Novartis, the pharmaceutical giant) conducted grisly experiments at the Huntingdon Life Sciences laboratories in England. The scientists grafted genetically-modified (to create a human-like organ) pig hearts into baboons and cynomolgus monkeys. The goal was twofold: first, a marketable xenograft for human use; and second, development of the critical immunosuppressants (hence, Novartis funding the research). Internal documents were leaked to the animal rights group Uncaged Campaigns in early 2000, and a report detailing the research (Imutran sued to block and lost) soon followed.

The 50 or so baboons were kidnapped in Africa, and the 400-600 monkeys were purchased from Asian breeders and transported to England in small metal cages. Most of the baboons had pig hearts transplanted into their necks and abdomens (i.e., not life-supporting). The majority of the monkeys had their own kidneys removed and replaced with one pig kidney (they were life-supporting but abnormally positioned). All of the animals died. The documents revealed collusion between the British government and Imutran to suppress troublesome details. These descriptions of post-surgery come directly from the researchers’ logs:

quiet and huddled…body and head tremors…large vomit in cage…exhibits discomfort when moving…no use of right arm…right arm badly swollen and bruised…skin broken and oozing blood…collapsed on cage floor…very laboured breathing…extreme difficulty trying to walk…holding neck…animal picking at transplant site…keeps holding area where transplanted heart is…yellow fluid seeping from site…animal showing obvious discomfort…uncoordinated limb spasms…retching and salivating…bloody discharge from penis…observed shivering…periodic severe tremors…extreme difficulty breathing, vocalising…died prior to sacrifice…sacrificed for humane reasons

While some died from technical failures within 24 hours, most lingered for 13-99 days before succumbing to infection, rejection, or toxicity. Imutran’s research was discontinued (and moved to the U.S.) largely as a result of Uncaged’s disclosure. In an interview with Frontline, Dan Lyons said: “One of the most unfortunate animals had a piglet heart transplanted into his neck. …for several days he was holding the heart. It was swollen. It was seeping blood, it was seeping pus… He suffered from body tremors, vomiting, diarrhea. And the animal just sat there. I think living hell is really the only sort of real way you can get close to describing what it must be like to have been that animal in that situation.”

In order to produce workable xenografts, the above cited experiments are necessary. Armed with that knowledge, we must ask: How much suffering and destruction is acceptable in the pursuit of medical progress? For me, the answer is simple. The exploitation of the weak and the voiceless is always immoral, no matter the species. We do not harvest the organs of small children or the mentally enfeebled (i.e., those intellectually comparable to apes and pigs) because they are us. Speciesism defined. Other sentient beings are not resources to be carved and plucked. Support mechanical devices, become an organ donor, and bequeath your body to education. That is the least we can do.

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