You couldn’t click into any form of social media without hearing about the Yulin Dog Meat Eating Festival, which happens every summer in Yulin, China. Facebook in particular was overladen with posts begging readers to sign petitions against the cruel practices of the event, which results in the inhumane deaths of thousands of dogs every year. Outraged Americans were filled with disgust at the atrocities they read about these innocent dogs being crammed into cages awaiting death, as well as dogs being slammed over the head and pulled about by the neck as a form of slaughter, all while the next victims watched on in fear of the horrific fate that awaited them.
Shortly after, a new reason for upheaval befell the American public when a gorilla was shot at the Cincinnati Zoo after a three-year-old child fell into the exhibit. Zoo officials shot the animal after it began displaying violent behavior toward the child. Facebook became cluttered with memes and commentary about the unnecessary cruelty of the measure, along with criticism of the child’s mother for allowing her child to fall into the exhibit.
After looking at all of the outrage surrounding this violence against animals, it seemed as if all of a sudden the American public was concerned with animals’ rights in a way which is typically uncharacteristic, considering that atrocities committed against animals everyday in our country through the practice of factory faming are continually overlooked and justified. Animals including chickens and pigs live their entire lives crammed in cages awaiting slaughter and yet, there are few to no tears shed by the American public over this injustice. Additionally, pigs are beaten over the head as a form of slaughter in spite of humane slaughter laws intended to prevent such cruelty and yet, a typical member of the American public feels little to no call-to-action against such gestures of violence. The system of factory farming in which the overwhelming majority of the American public partakes produces animals that are abused due to lack of space, improper feeding and inhumane slaughter. Such animals are known to have diseases of both the body and the mind, with many suffering daily from dehydration, respiratory diseases, bacterial infections, heart attacks and crippled legs among other ailments. However, such injustices are justified by Americans because we either value the pleasure of humans over the humane treatment of animals, or believe that though the system is broken and harmful, there is no other way to produce meat that meets American demands.
The hypocrisy of the situation cannot be denied — caging and beating dogs once a year in another country is an outrage, while giving animals the same treatment daily in the United States is a sad but necessary evil. Human pleasure out weighs animals’ rights to humane treatment in the meat industry, but human safety is no cause to gun down a gorilla when a helpless child falls into the enclosure. Do not mistake these statements as condoning the practices of the Yulin Dog Meat Eating Festival or saying that there could have been no better way to bring the child out of danger in the case of the Cincinnati Zoo, but instead as pointing out how the American public should be outraged not only at the inhumane acts committed by others against animals, but also by the actions we ourselves contribute to by our complacency toward factory farming’s abuses.
If we are willing to demonize others for inhumane acts against animals, we must also remember what part we play in supporting a system that treats animals with the same degree of cruelty daily. Creating a petition against the the atrocities of the Yulin Dog Meat Eating Festival is a great start, which I am glad that so many of you are taking, but why stop there? Create a petition for humane farming practices here in the United States as well, for laws that will give the animals and employees of factory farms safe and humane conditions in which to live and work. As eager as we are to point the finger at others for their mistreatment of animals, let us not forget that we too have work to do to create a harmonious existence between animals and humanity.
