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The Animal Welfare Cause
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Loading...On Holocaust Remembrance Day, Also Think Of Animals In Concentration Camps
Nobel Prize-winning Yiddish author Isaac Bashevis Singer, who fled from Poland to the United States in 1935 and took a room above an slaughterhouse, once observed, “There is only one little step from killing animals to creating gas chambers à la Hitler and concentration camps à la Stalin … .” Singer, who advocated vegetarianism until his death in 1991, believed that we should be shocked and appalled by all forms of abuse, and show sympathy for all victims of injustice.
This Sunday, April 11, Holocaust Remembrance Day, while you’re thinking of all the poor people who suffered and died during the Holocaust, please also take a moment to reflect on our modern-day concentration camps and the billions of animals who are raised and killed for food every year. There is a disturbing parallel between the systems of confinement, abuse, and slaughter of Jews and that of factory-farmed animals. While the victims are different—except in their ability to feel pain, love, joy, fear, and grief—the methods of oppression and persecution are the same.
I often wonder about the human race, and I know many of you do too. What will it take to convince more people to behave civilly and compassionately, not just to those who are like them, but to those who are different from them as well?
Eleven million people were spit on, mocked, beaten and gassed during the Holocaust while millions more—those who were not in fear for their lives—looked on and let it happen. And most people complacently eat the flesh and secretions of animals raised in equally gruesome intensive confinement operations, known as factory farms. They are today’s concentrations camps.
Chickens, pigs, cows, and other farmed animals are crammed together in the least space possible. Most never breathe fresh air or feel grass beneath their feet. Frightened babies are torn from their distraught mothers. Chickens have their beaks cut off; cows have their horns pulled from their heads; pigs are castrated—all without painkillers. Then they are herded into filthy, slippery transport trucks and taken to slaughterhouses where they are strung up by their legs and their throats are slit.
Will we sit back and let it happen? Philosopher and scholar Dr. Helmut Kaplan, reportedly once said, “Our grandchildren will ask us one day: Where were you during the Holocaust of the animals? What did you do against these horrifying crimes?”
What will your answer be?
Hopefully, you’ll say that you went vegan because you couldn’t abide any form of cruelty. Some people may say that they choose to eat animals raised on free range or organic farms. They may have good intentions, but there’s a difference between treating slaves kinder and not keeping slaves at all. When we sit down to eat, we can choose whether to support the holocaust against animals or to help end it.
Unfortunately, no one can do a thing to take away the pain and misery that the Holocaust victims endured, but everyone can help prevent additional violence and suffering by pledging to go vegan. If you haven’t already done so, please pledge not to eat animals—on Holocaust Remembrance Day and every other day of the year.
Read more: animal welfare, concentration camps, factory farms, holocaust, peta, vegan
PETA
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477 comments
+ add your ownA horrible existance!
How sick and cruel people can be and how horrible.
This is utterly pitiful!!!! Chickens are free roaming by nature!!! They are happiest when allowed to do that. What a shame for these idiots to put the love of money in front of needless suffering!!! The laws need to be stricter on such cruelty!!!
One thing people can do is buy "free range" eggs where the chickens are treated humanely (not like in the picture) They cost more but I think it's worth it.
It does say in Genesis that God gave man dominion over the animals and that everything HE created was good. What's gone wrong?
I do believe too that violence or mistreatment of any living creature
is something that God would be extremely sad about. The human race has a lot to answer for.
I do believe in the food chain, but I do not believe in torture, no other animal on this earth would subject another to such barbaric treatment. And we call them animals!!!
Please read and share, rescued horses will die without your support.
http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/1473213
So true, lets not forget the terror many animal suffer for humanity.
Gundhi said a nation can be judged by their treatment of innocent animals.
Psychologist agree that often cruelty to animals is followed by curelty to mankind.
I guess anyone or anything that has suffered or man's on ends/means lived in the holocaust, including Jewish, African slaves, and the Jews in Europe.... Did not know that there is a connection between the humans in concentration/internment camps and animals in a similar situation. Cruelty, abuse, violence and oppression must stop.
Doesn't PETA see the irony here? The holocaust was a terrible event in the history of the world. People were killed based on their ethnicity. Not on whether or not they were bad people - just because of race. PETA supports BSL (breed specific legislation). BSL is very similar. BSL rips happy, loving dogs out of their homes to be killed not based on their behaviour but on their breed (race, ethnicity). They also support having all dog fight bust dogs (including newborn puppies) euthanized. Most of these dogs can be rehabilitated. They push communities to kill their feral cat populations instead of having them cared for. They kill 95% or more of animals that are brought in to them. And they oppose people having cats and dogs as pets. If you don't agree with them, you should NOT be supporting PETA! There are many other animal groups that are truly helping animals that could use your support. It's far past time for PETA to stop being hypocrites. BSL is akin to the Holocaust!
Alsjeblieft, stop This gruwelheden. Die Dieren Hebben OOK OM niet sterven Vacht Gevraagd. Je kunt niet zomaar Het Recht in de hand nemen en Eigen beslissen over Het ontnemen van Het Leven van EEN onschuldig Dier. DAT de mens Meer denkvermogen heeft Wil niet zeggen DAT zij This macht op Ernstige Wijze moeten misbruiken ....... Denk voldaan JE hart, Laat de Dieren en Leven, Alle Dieren!
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