Dear Bonnie: I'm sure kittys sent to labs do not go there in very comfy quarters. I agree with you that it should not matter what an animal's destiny will be in deciding whether or not it is treated with due care and respect. It seems to me that if we humans are going to take their lives to further our own ends, be it our appetite or medical curiousity, we owe them even MORE respect. I think the Native American religions had a much kinder regard for animals and granted they possess a spirit...a hunter was obliged to bless his prey and thank its spirit for giving its life to sustain his own. Unfortunately in our capitalist society the "bottom line" takes precedence and getting as many critters to market or labs for the least cost is the rule. Most people go to the supermarket and buy meat in neat packages, or shampoo, etc. in stylish containers with no thought given as to what suffering went into getting those products to market.
A few years ago they passed legislation here in California making it illegal for horses bound for slaughter to be transported in those double-deck cattle trucks, which is especially problematic for horses as it required them to lower their heads to fit in and that makes it harder for them to maintain their balance. And of course the animals on top urinate and defecate and that seeps onto those below and horses (with a higher center of gravity than cows in most cases and a single-toed hoof) are more prone to slipping and falling and being trampled. The rationale seemed to be...so a few got lost that way, if you could haul twice as many per load, so what? And I recall not long ago someone interviewing the actress Bo Derek, an accomplished horsewoman who breeds Andalusians on her Santa Ynez ranch, speaking out against the practice of horses being sent to slaughter for human consumption, (many are barely past foalhood, the unwanted byproducts of the Premarin hormone replacement industry) -- to the thriving markets for horsemeat in both Europe and Japan. When asked why it was OK for cattle to be slaughtered, but not horses, she replied that cows were raised specifically for that purpose, but horses were not. Same selective ethic. But why should it be OK even for cows, or pigs, or whatever to be given less respect and treated with less care and concern and hauled in those crowded, awful double-deck trucks? Chickens are stuffed like cabbages into crates and stacked on a flat-bed truck to be hauled in the open-air and a certain percentage are suffocated or die due to exposure in very cold or hot weather. At the hatcheries, baby chicks are sorted by sex and the females are fated to a short life in a cramped cage in a laying factory, but most male chicks are thrown into barrels to suffocate and become fertilizer, or even ground up and mixed into animal feed. We have a strong emotional attachment in our society to dogs and cats and for some also horses, but other animals get the short end of the ethical stick. In some other societies, cats and dogs are also menu items. There is much to be said for being a vegetarian and eating lower on the food chain. Don't mean to get off topic and rant and rave on my soap box. It is very troubling that this inhumane shipment of cats may be a reality. I hope the true facts will come to light, and, if so it would seem that animal welfare groups like PETA should bring pressure to bear, if possible. I will certainly think twice about patronizing FedEx (or whoever it is that is shipping cats inhumanelly) and will send an e-mail to that effect. One can only hope that if enough people do likewise they will pay attention. Sally in San Jose
