Is it really possible to slaughter an animal humanely? First of all, yes, I know the image is a bit harsh. But after all, the point here is to question whether it can be humane to take the life of a sentient being. Every year we kill 74 billion animals to eat their meat, to make clothing from their Fur to make - or to Trials Can even one of these accepted deaths have been humane and morally justifiable?
Maybe you have already heard the argument "I only eat meat from animals that have been humanely slaughtered." heard - or even used it yourself once to justify your meat consumption. In this post, I want to find out if this argument is actually logical or rather a weak excuse. Let's go.
Can animals really be slaughtered humanely?
Humane means merciful, humane, lenient and without harshness. How could you, theoretically, slaughter someone in a humane way?
Certainly not with a Bolt gunthat is mainly used on cows and horses. Since the animals do not want to die, they become nervous and fidget. This makes the relatively small brains of the large animals even harder to hit, so that they are often still conscious when their throats are slit.
At Electric bath chickens are attached upside down by their legs to a conveyor chain and their heads are pulled through electrically charged water. The animals try to free themselves from the catches, thereby not completely submerged under water and are consequently often also conscious when the throat cut is made.
Pigs are even used in Gas chambers gassed with carbon dioxide - but then often wake up in the subsequent scalding bath.₂
Notice: Male chicks are also gassed immediately after birth, by the way, because they are worthless for the industry. The alternative is the brutal Chick Shredding. None of this is humane.
98 percent of the meat in Germany comes from the Factory farming₃, where these killing methods are legal and therefore absolutely standard. Try to put yourself in the position of the animal and then decide which of these ways of death you would prefer. And ask yourself whether you would also kill your pet with such methods if you had to redeem it.
You can't take the life of a sentient being that doesn't want to die in a humane way - it's simply impossible. Voluntary animal welfare labels may give us a calmer conscience - but they are meaningless to the animals themselves. But let's assume that an animal can actually be killed humanely: when you buy your meat, how would you absolutely ensure that the animal was also killed for you in a humane way?
Humane slaughter is wishful thinking
I can't keep this final picture from you, sorry. It is the reality. That animals can be slaughtered humanely, on the other hand, is a wishful thinking, which we evening better fall asleep and ultimately prevents us from changing our habits. Very few of us would be able to kill an animal with our own hands. Then why do we pay someone else to do it?
To be humane means to show mercy and forbearance - and to sympathize. You cannot humanely kill a living being who does not want to die. Animals are emotional beingswho have done nothing wrong. Yet their far-too-early end must feel like a punishment. To provide that, we need to demonstrate humanity - the Start into vegan life is the decisive step. Until then, the blood is on our hands.
Do you have any questions or suggestions about "Humane Slaughter"? Then just write me a comment.
Stay sustainable,
PS.: Phew, this article was quite hard to write, when just before you wrote one about the bee friendly garden has written. If you're a little stirred up right now, feel free to take a step down with the Bee post. If you want to learn even more about the background of factory farming right now, be sure to check out this vegan documentaries an.
References:
₁ Things Explained - In Brief: Meat - The World's Tastiest Evil, YouTube, Jan. 24, 2019, web, May 07, 2020 at 10:50 a.m., in: http://y2u.be/y6f3dwxexZM.
₂ Natural Energizer; Y. Popov: The Fairy Tale of "Humane Slaughter" - Natural Energizer, available at https://t1p.de/pgt0. [17.07.2020].
₃ Bayerischer Rundfunk: Tierwohllabel - ein Ausweg aus der Massentierhaltung? (Oct. 05, 2022), available at https://t1p.de/ujyi. [17.07.2020].
