Since Catherine posted the video on her blog, I thought I would use Spring Break to watch it and comment on the documentary Earthlings.
Honestly, I found the documentary to be very redundant and manipulative. It appeals to the viewers emotions to an extreme extent and gives no practical advice as to how we as humans should live in light of the injustices that are being done to animals. The clips of cute animals romping around in their natural habitat are juxtaposed with clips of cows' throats being slit, which creates an emotional as well as visceral reaction, but what can we do to change the treatment of animals as a whole? The clips didn't support the point: the point is that things should change (or at least that should be the point), but I feel as though the point that comes across is just that animals' lives today really suck.
Chinese Zoos[1]
This is not to say that I didn't learn anything from the documentary and that it was a total waste of my time. It was only mostly a waste of my time. I did learn a few statistics that I wasn't aware of, which are as follows:
27% of homeless dogs are purebred.
50% of shelter animals are brought in by their caretakers.
Cows in India are used for leather goods in the US.[2]
The first two stats really show how the American society is wasteful. My neighbor growing up had a purebred dog that cost their family exorbitant amounts of money to buy. It would seem that getting a purebred dog from a shelter would be like getting a used Prada handbag for $20. You bet I'd do it.
Prada Advertisement[3]
The third stat is a commentary on our growing lack of support for others' religious beliefs. If the demand is high enough in the U.S. that we have to resort to using a sacred animal of India to feed our desires, we've got some explaining to do. I may not understand that sanctity of cows, but it is about respect. How many people in India really know this is happening?
This documentary wasn’t life-changing for me. I don’t feel as though I should avoid meat or speak out against animal cruelty. I don’t agree with the inhumane execution of animals as depicted with the anal electrocution of foxes or the flogging of cows, but the use of euthanasia in the form of shots or even the captive bolt gun doesn’t bother me that much. You gotta do what you gotta do. It is unfortunate that we have to kill pets due to overpopulation due to lack of spaying and neutering, but we have consequences for our actions.
The documentary concluded with a quote by Leo Tolstoy, “As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields.”[4] What he says is true. Unless we decide to all go vegan and never eat animals again, people will complain about cruelty to animals. But what can we do about it? Earthlings doesn’t say.
2 comments:
You:"the use of euthanasia in the form of shots or even the captive bolt gun doesn’t bother me that much. You gotta do what you gotta do."
Define "gotta". You don't have to eat that animal, or wear it's skin. Be honest, the cow who is dragged in fear to the slaughter house with the sounds of her kind dying around her, will recieve a bolt through the head due to selfish desire, not need.
You:"even the captive bolt gun doesn’t bother me that much"
I expect it bothers her more.
You:"It is unfortunate that we have to kill pets due to overpopulation due to lack of spaying and neutering, but we have consequences for our actions."
The consequences are not ours however. They suffer for our actions.
You:"Unless we decide to all go vegan and never eat animals again, people will complain about cruelty to animals. But what can we do about it? Earthlings doesn’t say."
Earthlings canot give you a difinative answer. By showing you some of the things that happen out of sight, it invites you to give a damn, and begin to find solutions. These things will not happen quickly and groups take different approaches. Education, activism, persuing points of law and yep, veganism are all tools. I don't believe that my being Vegan will change the world, but during my lifetime I will have created less demand for a few individuals.In the same way that I wouldnt give even a pound/dollar to an arms dealer, I won't have funded an industry that minces thousands of surplus male chicks alive every day. All any of us can hope for is damage control, baby steps and incramental improvements. Doing nothing and making excuses isnt an option.
Thank you Jane...I agree with all you said/explained.
After watching this documentary, I felt helpless at the idea of making a difference in the lives of the animals that suffer at the hands of us humans--for what? desire...profit... It's disgusting. How could have I expected that there was humane treatment of these living beings when we turn blind eyes to the suffering of those within our own species. The extent of our selfishness is inconceivable.
You're right though...at least as an individual I can create less of a demand for this exploitation--doing nothing is not an option.
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