... BOVINUS EXTINCTUS ...
When I hear about Greenpeace activists doing so much to save the whales, the rubber nosed flip-tip goo goo bird, and whatever, I must say that I am delighted by their dedication to helping the less fortunate, oppressed animals, but I do feel inclined to speak out about hidden extinction. The cow is one such species that has fallen victim to hidden extinction, although not by any fault of their own, but due entirely to man's exploitation, when, in fact, we should protect cows as well as all other animals. Whilst it may be argued that cows are alive and inhabiting almost every street corner,(albeit only in butcher shops), we must be careful to consider the meanings of our own language, thus: Does the mere existence of a species, living on managed farms, so far apart from their natural environment, having their horns cut off, being branded with blazing branding irons, having regular chemical drench treatment to combat intestinal parasite infestations (which, incidentally are more the result of their unnatural environment, than anything else), chemical tick dip or spray every three months, the males being castrated to enhance growth rates to ensure quick marketability and good price returns for the farmer, and all this, needless to say, against their will, I reitterate,
"Does this existence constitute living?"
I, for one, would argue strongly that cows, denied the right to exist as God created them, are tantamount to extinct.
Furthermore, we can see that cattle live in feedlot conditions, or at best, in fenced off pastures, which are discreet, artificially fertilized, environmental chemical coctails, wherin the cows are denied the opportunity to roam and forage at will. The sexes are segregated, breeding is managed by farmers, or graziers as they like to be known, and herd dynamics is governed by such factors as the sustainability of the pastures, opporunity price hikes, market outlook, or even the availability of good farm workers and other management considerations, rather than for the herd's personal benefit including social involvement with the herd's own members in a familiar fashion, (and by this I am indicating family-like interaction) coupled with it's interaction within and part of, a natural, dynamically balanced, ecologically sustainable food web.
Then to add insult to injury, at a very, unnaturally, young age, rarely more than two years old, they are forced to endure premature death at the hands of a slaughterman, after being trucked, or otherwise freighted, in extremely crowded, uncomfortable, unhygenic conditions, often for days on end, from the farm to the slaughterhouse.
Only a madman would consider such an existence to be life. Anyone claiming this type of existence to be living, should be willing to voluntarily accept such a "life" for him/herself.
This cannot be permitted to endure!
If you, me, and the Greenpeace, save the whales, new age, environmentally concerned activists are not willing to address this complete travesty of nature, then our mere band-aid mentality of reducing the effects of said travesty, by trying to clean up an ever-increasing mess, will amount to little more than another chapter in the human farce, whilst the real challenges offered to our human intelligence remain unaccepted and untouched, while mankind continues to languish in his self imposed morass of self pity and finger pointing, buck passing blame shifting, being little more than a two legged animal.
Being human is a gift not an excuse.
Brothers and sisters, wherever and whoever you may be, please, if nothing else, simply refuse to have anything to do with this ultra-inhumane treatment of the poor, unfortunate lesser beings who haplessly co-inhabit our planet, so that we might return to a more caring, warm hearted species, who's role is as caretaker of our environment, not like the crazed and heartless, maniacal looters of this poor planet to whom we owe so much. Let us act in such a way that we can be proud of belonging to the human race. Being human should be considered a rare gift not merely an excuse.
Interaction with our environment is decidedly dynamic. We have depleted our environment so much that now we, as an integral component of the environment, are rendering the environment incapable of sustaining the requirements of human intelligence; our heartless ignoring of the suffering of millions of poor animals is the very proof of this terrible situation, wherin mankind is the actual disease.
Please consider what I have said. We have not yet even touched upon the other "meat breeds" (Ovinus extinctus, etc) nor the depletion of the aquatic environment by the fishing "industry", nor the degradation of environmently sensitive, key ecosystems by the tourism industry. Nor the contamination of the waterways for the sole purpose of economic advancement and "stability" (for the sole benefit of those who have empires to lose otherwse, certainly not for the benefit of the average Joe in the street), etc, etc, etc ... all in the name of excess wealth, so that we may purchase a plethora of consumer items we neither want nor need; or as they say "We spend all our time working, doing something we hate doing, to buy things that we don't need, so we can impress people that we don't like". Please come to your senses, demonstrate some of the intelligence that supposedly separates the human race from the animals, and show some compassion. Compassion is never wasted; at the very least it feeds our heart with love and frees us from the fear of being ourselves.
Freedom.
Freedom is a condition in which we live our life in a compassionate manner, free from the blind compulsion to follow social trends just so we feel that we belong within some "safe zone" of a contrived social stratum. And because we lack such compassion, many species including cows are becoming extinct. For those who are not inclined to compassion, please consider that due to our lack of compassion, we, the "human race" are also becoming extinct by this very same process.
Your servant and wellwisher.
<*>< tarunkrsnadas.
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