Animal Rights Ammo

So I’m frustrated — actually, no, frustrated doesn’t begin to cover it — I’m frazzled, frantic, and just flat out sick and tired of animal rights activists blaming the U.S. for “animal crimes” committed in other countries.

I would venture to say at least half the videos, photos, articles, broadcasts, posts, etc. shared in my vegan, animal rights, and anti-ag Facebook groups and Instagram pages are created and published in countries outside the country. Which, in retrospect, is fine. In any normal social setting, it’s totally okay to bring up what’s going on outside the U.S. and I have absolutely no problem with this. 

What I DO have a problem with, however, is when a person shares something clearly from another country (where animal welfare rules are nowhere close to those of the U.S.) and acts as if every American citizen is responsible for these actions.

There is not one specific instance I’m talking about with this situation, but a multitude of instances that is driving me insane.

Another thing that drives me insane? The perception amongst animal rights activists that the U.S. is lacking in their animal welfare laws.

According to a 2020 report by World Animal Protection, a ________, “for the API [Animal Protection Index], we assessed the animal welfare policies and legislation of 50 countries and ranked them from A (the highest score) to G. Shockingly, no country obtained an ‘A’ grade and the US fell short again, ranking below Mexico and India. The United States has not increased its D ranking since 2014.”

I’m no expert on animal law, but I am an expert on the postings of animal rights activists’ posts and perceptions of the way animals are treated in other countries and I must wonder: how on Earth can the U.S. get a D rating?

During my time as Assistant Editor of the Western Ag Reporter, I studied, wrote, and paid attention to all things animal law news. From the PACT Act (Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act) which had us all scared dragging a calf at branding would be prohibited to the spike in interest surrounding Animal Law degrees from prestigious law schools across the country, I knew slightly more than the average person about animal law.

During my time as a silent member of over 20 anti-ag, vegan, and animal rights activist groups, I’ve seen enough posts about South American or Asian countries to make even my toes curl. Posts involving the torture of bulls in used for bull fighting, up-chuck-inducing slaughterhouse conditions, and flat out cruel and unusual treatment of livestock and pets.

Have I seen the same types of videos from the U.S.? Kind of, but not to that extent. 

From the U.S., I’ve seen photos, videos, and posts about livestock panting while in a straight deck trailer on a hot day, a few of disgruntled dairy employees beating the tar out of a Holstein cow (those employees were fired and sued, btw), and some posts about wild horses and household pets.

Now, I’m not saying the United States is innocent here. I know there are plenty of people out there who neglect and mistreat their animals. And at the end of the day, we are still killing and eating animals, regardless of how they’ve been treated while alive.

What I’m saying, though, is that we are by far from the worst countries out there when it comes to animal welfare — and it frustrates the heck out of me when people in these groups think compare those who ever owned an animal to Satan himself.

I guess the point I’m trying to make here is that we aren’t all bad guys, and we shouldn’t let a few negligent cattle handlers ruin the whole apple cart of livestock producers.

Anti-ags are looking for any and every reason to turn the rest of the world against us, so be careful not to give them any ammo.