Cyndi's Two Cents

What do animals “deserve”?

Commentary. 

As a child I remember clearly reading “The Little Red Hen” and watching the movie “Bambi.” My siblings and I along with cousins spent many a Saturday morning laughing at cartoon character animals like Bugs Bunny, Deputy Dog, Daffy Duck and Foghorn Leghorn on television.

I come from a family of hunters and farmers. We all had pets and we all had livestock. We also had hunting dogs. We had guns that were used to shoot geese, rabbits, squirrels and deer. We fished.

We still hunt, fish, farm, read books and watch cartoons, but a lot of people look at those activities differently than they did 40 years ago. Our society has changed significantly in 40 years and the way animals are viewed in today’s culture is transforming daily.

At the heart of the debate between livestock producers and those who advocate for improvements in animal welfare/animal rights – is the burning question: Do farm animals have the ability to feel, perceive and be conscious?

Do the cattle and hogs and goats and sheep and horses and chickens you raise on your farms need or deserve more than the basics of food, water and shelter? Should they also be given adequate space for exercise and social activities? And whose place is it to determine the answers to those questions?

Ken Anderson with Brownfield Ag News recently interviewed Purdue University animal scientist Dr. Candace Croney on this topic. Croney, considered one of the nation’s foremost experts on animal learning and welfare, admits it’s a very complex and emotional issue, but she says there’s no question that animals do care how they are treated.

“The very fact that they are sentient beings means that how they’re treated matters to them,” Croney says, “and, so, one of the things we look at in scientific terms is, how do we ask the animals–what’s particularly important to you?

“Do we have ways to do that? Absolutely. Do we have ways of looking at animals that are well- fed and well cared for in terms of meeting their physical demands, and understanding that there may be something else going on with them? Absolutely.”

I have always believed, and still do, that those to whom the animals belong are those most likely to know what is best for those animals. We have a few bad actors on farms the same as there are a few bad actors teaching 5th grade, performing open heart surgery, and preaching the gospel in churches on Sunday mornings.

Dr. Croney said she thinks farmers and ranchers know what they are doing and are experts on the biological needs of animals, but that doesn’t mean they have a complete understanding of all of the behavioral needs of their animals. She said it is a fair concern to ask whether or not we’ve gone too far in some of our production practices.

Whether you agree with Dr. Croney or not, she is right in that the issues surrounding animal welfare in food production are not going to go away. It would be unfortunate if we were to allow those whose motivation is a desire for a meat-free society to have a hand in determining the future of animal husbandry in this country.