What can I do to help abused farm animals?

Question

How can I help neglected livestock (from mass farms, etc.) without becoming vegetarian?

Answer 1

Leviticus of the Old Testament gives very specific rules for how animals are to be slaughtered and which animals can be eaten. Leviticus is also the section of the Old Testament which specifically states that slavery is permitted, and which gives very specific rules for how slaves are to be treated. During the movement to abolish human slavery, many abolitionists were accused of going against the will of God, due to the fact that slavery is specifically condoned by the Bible.

Nevertheless, the movement to abolish human slavery included many Bible believing Christians, as does the modern animal rights movement. People who believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible are often troubled by these types of passages in the Old and New Testaments. The following is one possible explanation which some of them can offer.

A society can absorb only a limited amount of change at one time. It could be argued that God knew that if he commanded humans to abolish slavery and abolish the practice of killing animals for food, then this would simply be too great a shock for society to accept all at once, and most people would just end up ignoring the commandments altogether. Therefore, by giving specific rules for how slaves are to be treated, and for how animals are to be slaughtered, it could be argued that God made these practices considerably less barbaric than they would have been otherwise - although his real intention was for people to one day eventually realize that the message of compassion should be applied to all beings, including slaves and animals.

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP ABUSED FARM ANIMALS?

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Animal cruelty injures and kills so many animals each year, and some people can't take it anymore. If you'd like to learn how to take action to stop animal cruelty, read on.

**1) Become vegan or vegetarian. Why would you tell people you oppose animal cruelty if you ate a pig for breakfast? No one will think you're serious unless you show you're dedicated. This means not saying you're vegetarian and then sneaking pork grinds into your shirt. You can be vegetarian, but becoming vegan is even better because you won't be eating anything that has come from an animal, which prevents any chance of you supporting animal cruelty.

**2) Encourage others to join you. If you don't have anyone supporting you, no one will take you seriously. You can gain supporters by hosting rallies, or writing a petition.

**3) Host protests and rallies. Rallies can be held anywhere. But be aware: if you're protesting a method of service, make sure you're not on their property, or they can take legal action and call the police. But you are still allowed to protest near the service area, just as long as you're not on their property. For instance: if you were going to protest KFC, then you'd need to protest across the street from their restaurant. It can be anywhere as long as it's legal: a park, a concert, or across the street from a service that promotes animal cruelty. Have a lead organizer set up the date and the spot to protest, and get a lot of followers hyped up about the rally. An example of a failed rally is when only you and the organizer show up. Make sure beforehand that a lot of people are coming to protest, and that they're serious about it. If you make signs about animal cruelty, make a lot for the others, just in case they don't come prepared.

**4) Support PETA. It is still a licensed and legal Animal Rights advocators. (If you have any other similar organization would do better, go ahead). PETA is an association against animal cruelty. You can go to Peta2 and make an account there, where there are many other vegetarians and vegans willing to help the cause. The PETA sites regularly inform you of upcoming events, and send you updates on the fight against animal cruelty. You can encourage your friends to join the site too. And you can win points on the site by replying to forum posts, and with those points, you can get free anti-cruelty logos on things like stickers, pins, and buttons. You also can win points by convincing someone to become vegetarian or vegan. Donating to PETA greatly helps them in their quest to end Animal Cruelty.

**5) Start a petition. Print out a few pages of numbered lines, and on the first page, write "STOP ANIMAL CRUELTY". You can carry this wherever you go, and continually ask people to sign it. But be aware that you won't be able to show these in restaurants that may serve meat, because they will think you could destroy some of their business. A good place to get signatures is at a park or rally, because these are regular places for petitions.

**6) Be against animal testing. Many people have the spotlight on eating animals, whereas animal testing is just as big an issue. You can buy or make buttons that clearly state that you're against animal testing, and give them out to others.

**7) INFORM OTHERS. YOUR OWN FAMILY MEMBERS, RELATIVES AND FRIENDS ARE YOUR IMMEDIATE “CIRCLE”. Many people are unaware of the hidden cruelty which is taking place every day. It's your job to end this. Hand out pamphlets that inform people of what's going on, and what they can do to stop it. If you want to make sure you don't waste your time giving people pamphlets who don't want them, ask people along the sidewalk if they're aware of what's happening. If they say no, hand them the packet explaining that it has everything they need to know. This is better than sticking it in people's mailboxes because you remain personal with everybody.

Answer 2

Not much you can do unless you buy the animals and raise them yourself. Neglegted livestock are usually the first to go so I doubt you will find many of those.

Maybe you can volunteer at some farm sanctuary or something like that.

  

Answer 3

Figure out what is actually abuse and what is not.  Listening to peta won't help you there.  Visit a farm and do some learning.  Most animals are not abused.  The main concern of all good farmers is the well being of their livestock.  The main livelyhood of the farmer is the animal.  This goes for all farms, large or small.  Abusing animals is not profitable anyhow.  Once you know right from wrong, you will be able to help weed out the bad apples.

Only by arming yourself with complete knowledge of both sides of the story, will you be able to do anything useful.

Answer 4

join an organization that helps with rescuing abused farm animals or just abused animals in general. even search for websites that tell you how you can help. and then you and a group of friends, or just yourself, can do it alone. and don't worry about becoming a vegetarian, because as long as your helping or trying to help, why should it matter. that's my view on it.

good luck!

Answer 5

Why not help abused people first?  Once that problem is solved you can concentrate on farm animals.

Answer 6

You'd be a complete hypocrite to try and help farm animals without becoming vegetarian/vegan.

The average meat-eater causes the death of around 2000 animals in his or her lifetime.

If you go around campaigning against the abuse of farm animals, people will get a mixed message when they find out you pay for these animals to exploited and killed.

I'd strongly suggest you become vegan if you want to campaign, or you'll be giving a mixed message which could do more harm than good. If you do make this choice, you can:

1. Rescue animals

2. Write articles

3. Write a blog

4. Talk to people about vegetarianism/veganism

5. Write to companies/organisations/your MP about farm animals

6. Leaflet in the streets

7. Fund raise for charities campaigning against the exploitation and abuse of farm animals, such as Animal Aid

8. Provide a home for rescued animals

I'm sure there's even more than that.

Here's an example of the kind of work I do, it's an article I wrote after rescuing 320 hens from an 'organic' egg farm.

http://www.animalrightscommunity.com/blo...

They were cramped into a nearly pitch black barn, there were bars for floors, it reeked and they would have all been killed without our intervention. All the 'organic' label really means is that consumers don't have to feel guilty, that's the suffering they relieve... this is what welfare is.

But instead, 10,000 of them were saved that week and sent to caring homes and sanctuaries across the UK.

Answer 7

the single best way is to become a vegetarian yourself. it will save 1000s of farm animals life's.

Answer 8

Maybe join an organization or start a social vibe forum on myspace, facebook, or any other social network.  

Answer 9

I say eat them and help end their suffering. Maybe a nice block BBQ would do the trick. MMMM.