Compassion is making the best management decisions
“THEY don’t live forever. Quality of life is not determined by the quantity of life.
A recent discussion on a ‘compassionate’ page (you know the ones) highlighted again the disparity between reality and fantasy. It was deemed I lacked compassion due to the obvious – I send cattle to slaughter.
Production animals are reared for just that, to be productive.
That most certainly does not equate to a cruel life and management decisions are constantly being made with their best welfare at heart.
For cattle to be provided a timely (and useful) end to their life is certainly being compassionate.
Note the third cow from the bottom of the photo. The one with the least condition (skinniest). She has been a fabulous breeder but is now 12 years old. Some cows age better than others, just as humans do. I assume she has few teeth left in her mouth and cannot graze efficiently, she is slower to get up and lacks the vitality of her contemporaries. She will not be rejoined but will rear the calf she has just had, without the demands of another pregnancy, be fattened up and sent to the abattoirs.
To keep her longer would be heartless. She would decline into ill health with the inability to maintain good condition.
If managing her welfare in such a way makes me cruel in the eyes of some, then that I will willingly be. And no. No sleep will be lost.”