(no subject)
today i went to a stockyard where they auctioned off baby calves. they were 20 hours old and their little bodies were still streaked from leaving the womb. some could barely stand, their knees kept shaking and buckling under their bodies.
there were hundreds of them, pressed against each other in dirt stalls. a fat old man with a cane hit them when it was their turn to go into the auctioning ring; if they didn't respond, they were kicked and shoved into it.
there, the babies met bright lights and bleachers full of loud men. the man in the ring kept hitting them so they'd go in circles and display their tiny bodies to the owners of slaughterhouses. a man with a microphone speaking nauseatingly fast, bids its meat by the pound--80 cents, can i hear 85, 85, 85, 90, 95, one fifty, one fifty five fifty five fifty five, one seventy, two dollars, two dolars twotwo two two, sold!!
the entire time, the calves' eyes are wide--terrified--yet, unbelievably, they are still trusting of people. one stuck its little head through the wooden fence and pressed it softly against my hand. at 20 hours old, it had no comprehension of the kind of terror my kind could do to his. the baby calves were so naive... they looked up expectingly, lovingly.
i wonder how long it will take them to despise me and shrivel away in terror when i walk near its pen. i wonder how long it will take until the cow has a, "caution: dangerous!" sign in front of its pen--like the ones posted for the adult bulls in the lot next door. they've lived long enough to understand.
once its been bought, the baby cow gets smacked off the ring and awaits its cruel fate-- in seventy two hours, when it is just four days old, it will receive an electric shock to the head, which will, if it is lucky, kill it.
its body will then be carefully skinned and made into those fine leather gloves that are just oh-so-soft to the touch, and such a luxury to own!
its meat will be ground up and used as second-rate dog food.
its face will be buried in a dumpster.
there were hundreds of them, pressed against each other in dirt stalls. a fat old man with a cane hit them when it was their turn to go into the auctioning ring; if they didn't respond, they were kicked and shoved into it.
there, the babies met bright lights and bleachers full of loud men. the man in the ring kept hitting them so they'd go in circles and display their tiny bodies to the owners of slaughterhouses. a man with a microphone speaking nauseatingly fast, bids its meat by the pound--80 cents, can i hear 85, 85, 85, 90, 95, one fifty, one fifty five fifty five fifty five, one seventy, two dollars, two dolars twotwo two two, sold!!
the entire time, the calves' eyes are wide--terrified--yet, unbelievably, they are still trusting of people. one stuck its little head through the wooden fence and pressed it softly against my hand. at 20 hours old, it had no comprehension of the kind of terror my kind could do to his. the baby calves were so naive... they looked up expectingly, lovingly.
i wonder how long it will take them to despise me and shrivel away in terror when i walk near its pen. i wonder how long it will take until the cow has a, "caution: dangerous!" sign in front of its pen--like the ones posted for the adult bulls in the lot next door. they've lived long enough to understand.
once its been bought, the baby cow gets smacked off the ring and awaits its cruel fate-- in seventy two hours, when it is just four days old, it will receive an electric shock to the head, which will, if it is lucky, kill it.
its body will then be carefully skinned and made into those fine leather gloves that are just oh-so-soft to the touch, and such a luxury to own!
its meat will be ground up and used as second-rate dog food.
its face will be buried in a dumpster.