October 2 is World Day for Farmed Animals, and in looking for an image on Google, I came across several graphics with sweet lambs, ducks or calves sporting an enthusiastic "Happy World Day for Farmed Animals!" caption. Totally understand, and yet the word happy threw me off a bit as life for farmed animals is anything but happy, no matter what day it is. I truly hope no one still believes that farmed animals lead an idyllic life as illustrated in the awesomely cute image below, with the exception perhaps for those lucky enough to live in a sanctuary.
I even ran across one image that really had me gobsmacked until I went to the blog where it was linked to (not the blog mentioned in the pic) and realized that the dairy farmer in question was so thoroughly indoctrinated that they truly believe all sorts of nonsense such as: cow's milk is nutritious for humans, cows enjoy being milked by mechanical means, dairy farming is a noble and praiseworthy endeavour, blah blah blah.
Reality for farmed animals, as we all should know, is the exact opposite of happy and then some. Words like misery, suffering, cruelty, torture, hell and death are the words that I associate with this day (and every other day that sentient beings continue to be farmed), and it's up to vegans to remind others of the horrors that no farmed animal is spared.
Some are even willing to show their solidarity for farmed beings by participating in a one-day fast, and I would urge you to do the same if you can.
But whether you're able to fast or not (disclosure: I'm working that day and the physical nature of the job will prevent me from doing so), there are 364 other days where you can make your position on farmed animals and every other form of animal use known. Join others in the fight to make the rest of human society (ha ha, almost used the W word here, veganelder) wake up to the fact that animal use is not okay. Let's try to make each day a truly happy day for other sentient beings by:
- letting them stay alive
- letting them stay together with their offspring
- letting them stay together with the friends of their choice
- letting them participate in their natural instinctual behaviours
- letting them make their own choices as much as possible
(Don't like the phrase "letting them" in the list above, but it shows the absolute power human beings have over others they deem less valuable.)
In short, let's leave them the hell alone!