In article . net,
Maxprop wrote:

"Peter Wiley" wrote in message
. ..
In article et,
Maxprop wrote:

"Martin Baxter" wrote in message
...

Brutal murder? My ass! It's no worse than what we do to millions of
pigs and cows every year.

Hardly. Most domesticated farm animals slaughtered for food and hides
are
sacrificed with a device termed a "humane killer," which is little more
than
a gun that blows the brains to mush instantly, obviating pain on the part
of
the animal. The animal is generally dead before it hits the ground.

Pretty true, Max, except - have you ever been in an abbatoir? Seen the
slaughter line? Seen how the beasts are handled *before* they even get
there?

I have. I wrote software for a research project dealing with feedlots
and spent a lot of time close up & personal with all of this stuff.
That was 10 years ago and I haven't forgotten it. You haven't a clue of
just how much suffering and fear those beasts go through prior to their
quick and painless death.

Actually I have. I've watched the process at three separate slaughter
houses, and yes it ain't pretty. But it's hardly clubbing the animals,
skinning them while still alive, and allowing them to die in agony.

Nope, it's raising them in confined pens, feeding them rations
formulated to maximise weight gain and desired marbling, loading them
onto trucks using cattle prods and the like, transporting them to a
place of slaughter where they are usually deprived of food & water, or
at least on minimum rations, then forcing them through more races to a
place of slaughter, where they can smell the ones in front dying.

What is
even more disgusting is that the infant harp seals have no reason to
mistrust the hunters, so they eagerly approach them. After the pups are
clubbed and skinned, they bay pitifully for up to an hour as they slowly
bleed out. The mothers typically hover over their dying pups, trying in
vain to comfort them. It's cruel and inhumane.

You're making a really, really bad comparison between
institutionalised, factory slaughter and clubbing cute little seals to
death.

S'cuse me? I didn't make that comparison--Martin B. did.

Both are abhorrent.

Perhaps, but the differences are profound. Perhaps you should view a harp
seal harvest before making such ridiculous claims.

What ridiculous claims have I made? I said that *both* were abhorrent.
Is this a ridiculous claim?

I think clubbing, and then live-skinning, any animal should be a
criminal offence. I don't care if they're being killed, as long as it's
fast & humane and the kill is within sustainable harvest levels.

As for intensively farmed livestock, the *only* bit of their lives that
may be described as humane is the kill. The differences aren't as
profound as you might like to believe.

PDW