OpEdNews - Diary: CAFO Calf Cruelty

I truly hope that the videotape showing a worker brutally clubbing two defensless downed calves will shake you as it did me and others. I also find it hard to believe that some lawmakers want to make it a crime to videotape animal cruelty. The crime is the torture of innocent living beings- not the videotaping of it.

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I was told that I could not send Mercy for Animal exposes on oped because they are promotional. At least that's what I think they said, and of course, I respect their policies. However, I was very happy for the couple of times they did go through. And all the more since some states with large CAFO interests are trying to stop cruelty videoptaping with legislation which would forbid it.

At the suggestion of the e-mail site where I read about this silencing attempt of videotaping animal cruelty, I e-mailed some of the legislators in either Iowa or Missouri voicing my concern in this regard. I was happy that the two or three legislators responding agreed that such a law -if passed, would be an infringment of people's right to free speech. I hope that the majority were of the same opinion and that this legislation will die and disappear.

Since I cannot send the Mercy for Animals e-mail which contained the link to this calf cruelty, I asked Nathan Runkle to send me the link so that anyone on oped who wants to view it can. I had already sent his e-mail to friends and family with the exception of my older sister who I knew would not be able to watch a man repeatedly strike with a heavy club two downed, innocent, and vulerable calves. I myself couldn't watch more than that. However, if there is is one videotape on animal cruelty which should circle the globe, this may well be it. This is the link: www.Mercyforanimals.org/calves

I think that if enough caring people would view this tape, it might provoke a large hue and cry. If so,
I hope it will cause us to take action of some kind. Spreading this video tape to others is one such action. Also we could try to clue in our legislators and church leaders about the need to do something in this regard. The more people who are aware of this inexcusable cruelty the greater the hope that it will lead to CAFO reform.

Yet another way to help our farm animals is to reduce the consumption of large quantitiies of meat,
milk, and eggs. I believe that if we ever hope to make a case for returning our farm animals to any sort of
normal, untortured existence, then cutting cutting back on these "needs" will help. Some of you may even
decide to make a giant leap and become vegetarian.

This is a short post but then I may be only one of a very small minority who thinks "less is more." I believe words aren't really needed, but viewing the videotape is.