Bravo to the Humane Society for Southwest Washington for rescuing 25 doomed dogs from a South Korean dog meat farm, prominently featured in the Sept. 29 front page story “Dogs get second chance in U.S.” We should extend this compassion to other species raised in dreadful conditions for the sole purpose of human consumption.
The world body count is staggering, with upwards of 150 billion marine and livestock animals harvested each year worldwide. Although eating dog or horse is taboo in the U.S., pig, beef and chicken are considered livestock. This has little to do with species variation and is a result of cultural preferences ingrained in early childhood. All of these species suffer and feel pain and deserve our respect.
This cultural bias was reflected in the newspaper that day. Rescuing dogs was featured on the front page and eating pigs was highlighted in the recipe section. Though these two animals are of similar intelligence, only one is deemed worthy of protecting.
If saving animals is the goal, not eating them may be the most sensible action to take. We would likely develop compassion, see wild animal populations rebound, improve the health of our dying planet and elevate our personal health as well.
