An Alberta farmer recently lost $175,000 worth of purebred cows, calves and bulls
(Terry Reith / CBC News)
All cattle are stolen. Animals have a right to exist, to own themselves.
This is a little overly simplistic. They exist because of us, and they can’t survive without us. So, it’s not like we can just swing open the gates and tell them to be free.
I’m not saying “and therefore, let’s keep breeding them”, just that “all cattle are stolen” doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Nope. Cattle are a GMO created by man. They have no “right” to exist, and only endure because we created them and feed on them. The is no such thing as a “wild” cow.
Well they used to be until humanity came up with another cruel system.
Well it’s an interesting argument. I’d say there’s got to be a line somewhere and it’s somewhat subjective where you put it.
For instance, do bacteria have a right to own themselves, or can we harness them to ferment milk and make yogurt?
Apes or dolphins are pretty clearly too intelligent, most people wouldn’t want them on ranches.
Cattle are somewhere in the middle, I think you’ll find people’s opinions are likewise split down the middle
Hell yeah. This comment section is full of carnists.
Says that’s 85 cows. How many fit in a trailer? That’s at least 2 trips.
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You shouldn’t see such intelligent creatures as commodities.
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You can say the same thing about cats and dogs
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Maybe don’t let $175,000 worth of product out of your sight?
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Lol the cattle were taken at night by people who decided staying up would be worth $175,000. I’d be hiring some people to guard the cattle overnight. It obviously wasn’t hard for the thieves to take so I don’t see how it’s hard to protect.
I’m kind of against putting tracking chips in anything I might eat
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Hey, don’t go giving Big Brother any good ideas now (especially ones that would work on me)
It’s not like you’re going to eat all portions of the cow. Require that any chips be parked in the ear or something, where they won’t become a burger additive.
Mmm hot dogs. Pink ooze mmm.
Then the thieves are just going to cut off all the cows’ ears!
In which case, earless cows can just be presumed stolen wherever found, and confiscated. (Yeah, I know: “What if someone has a legit earless cow?” Then it should have a legit record at the vet’s office explaining why it doesn’t have an ear. And more than one or two of those on a given farm is pretty damned suspicious, barring an infestation of Martian Cow-Ear-Eating Bugs.)
Or we could just tattoo them on something that’s not likely to get cut off without killing the cow. (They used to brand them for just this purpose, but that’s cruel.)
At that point why not just embed the gps tags in the ear tags that we already put on cows? Or why can’t we just spray paint their butts like sheep? (Which I’m saying as a person that really knows nothing about this but if it works for the sheep…)
I’m against eating things that have the capacity to love me.
They’re individuals not products.
