Meeru Dhalwala, Special to the Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, December 31, 2008
This marks my 12th column for this paper, and I've covered many topics
close to my heart. Here are two important issues I want to tackle in
2009.
Farm animal welfare in Canada
While much attention was focused on California and Proposition 8,
which bans gay marriage there, California also passed Proposition 2 --
co-sponsored by the Humane Society and Farm Sanctuary (the biggest
farm animal rights group in the U.S.). Proposition 2 basically
requires that farm animals be able to stand up, lie down and turn
around fully, and bans the extremely cramped battery cages that
confine large numbers of hens.
Proposition 2 also bans the two-foot tiny crates for pigs and calves
(for veal). This is a big deal when we consider the billions of farm
animals and the impact this will have on the health of these animals,
which in turn affects our own health. Even though California voters
were aware this would increase the cost of eggs and meats during a
recession, both vegetarians and carnivores -- lower, middle and upper
class -- came together to vote in favour of this.
After much thought, I truly don't see the difference between the
mistreatment of dogs and cats and the torture of invisible chickens,
pigs and cows that end up on our dinner plates. Of course we have an
emotional attachment to our pets that we don't have to other animals,
but it doesn't mean farm animals don't feel the same trauma or pain as
our pets. I'm a believer in home-made chicken soup, but I don't want a
cramped, tortured chicken that has been force-fed with antibiotics or
hormones. There's no animal or human dignity in this.