End Animal Cruelty: Leading Your Kids By Example

Veganism is a movement right now that has been on the rise. FoodRevolution.org has stated that there has been a 600% increase in people identifying as vegans in the U.S. in the last three years alone. With that amount of people converting to veganism, we can expect more and more parents to start raising their children as vegans, right from their childhood.

Why is ethical treatment of animals important?

Many people believe that any use of animals is likely to involve suffering, and therefore, the only humane and ethical option is to avoid all animal products. Others embrace the animal rights which were articulated in the early 1980s by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): "Animals are not ours to eat, wear, or experiment on." In other words, whether or not we treat animals humanely, we do not have the right to use them for our own purposes.

Why is it important to help end animal cruelty?

• Pigs and goats are raised and reared, only to be slaughtered later on. The females are forcefully impregnated to produce litter.
• Poultry farms and broilers keep hens in closed wires cages with little space to move. Some parts of their beaks are seared off with blade, so that they do not peck each other to death.
• Beef cattle are dehorned (males are castrated), raised, fed pasture only to be slaughtered after they attain a desired weight.
• Milk production companies are interested only in cows, and bulls are conveniently killed off. Even the young calves are not spared. They are separated from their mothers within one day of birth.
• Selective breeding takes place in every industry dealing with animal products, the unfortunate, unworthy young animals are disposed off in variety of ways ranging from being buried alive to dumping in garbage cans within minutes of being born.
• The fishing industry is equally cruel. Bottom-trawling nets pull hundreds of tons of animals from the ocean, squeezing some of them so tightly against the sides of the nets that their eyes bulge and burst out of their skulls. For hours, trapped fish are dragged along the ocean floor. When hauled out of the water, the surviving fish undergo decompression. The extreme pressure change ruptures their swim bladders and pops out their eyes. Commercial fishing uses drift nets that also kill tens of thousands of sea mammals such as dolphins, whales, otters, seals, and sea lions per year, as well as depleting the food sources of many of these animals.
• Lastly, if you consider pigs, rabbits, kittens or puppies as cute pets, imagine at some restaurants these cuties are skinned and boiled alive just to satisfy the taste buds of some people.

Why should you stop using animal products?

Modern animal farming methods force animals to live in conditions most people cannot imagine. The abuses that described above are not unusual in the world of factory farming. There are very few laws protecting farmed animals, and some animals, such as birds, are exempt from laws regarding farmed animal slaughter. Animal agriculture interests are, on principle, opposed to regulation of agriculture and they fight vigorously to stop even the most meagre improvements for animals. They have great deal of political support, who receive periodic contributions from these bigwigs to make laws favoring animal industries.

The only solution to eliminate this is embracing plant-based lifestyle. Since once the demand reduces, the supply reduces ultimately.

When you buy meat, milk fish or any animal product, you are feeding your child the desperate hormones released at last hour by these poor and helpless creatures. Your child looks up to you as a role model and therefore you are the one who can make a big difference in your child's life and also contribute towards eliminating animal cruelty.