Are free-roaming cats a health issue? Well, of course they are. So is any animal, any bird, any human for that matter. After all, this little girl became ill mourning her chickens. But also note she may have been infected because she wiped her eyes after being yelled and struck by a worried family member. So lashing out at an animal lover may not be the best first reaction. Sometimes what we do to save a person can kill a person.
Of course, now there will be tons of regulations restricting the movement of cats...but would we consider sweeping limits on the raising of poultry for food? We are setting and raising embargos based on economic ties. If avian flu is a credible threat, wouldn't it make sense to just say "No More Moving Birds?" Certainly it will hurt certain industries. But we are talking a possible pandemic here. Instead we'll freak out over pet cats, in the media, instead of taking a good strong look at poultry or the bird trade.
Are there any bird trades (moving live birds, or dead bird parts that could be a disease risk) that are humane, or are they all inhumane and exploitive? If they are inhumane and exploitive, maybe this is the crack in the door to improve or halt some of them. But instead our first reaction will be to "protect" the industry.
Now there are some holes in my theory. Backyard poultry keeping could be more humane than large-scale poultry raising. However this could be even a greater human disease risk, if it were really practiced on a large scale, as it is in other countries.
There is also the plight of low-income people. Chicken is cheap (there is a reason for that--once again, the chicken pays). You can get a whole chicken for under $3.00, and feed your family. Take away the $3.00 chicken (and replace it with the $13.00 free-range chicken) and that can be a hardship for families.
However, this brings to mind the $5 Walmart jeans. When I was growing up, my first pair of jeans were American made and $14.00. Now, twenty-five years later, I can get jeans for $5, made in a sweatshop in another country. I can sympathize with people who have a family and a minimum wage job for whom those $5 jeans are a boon. But is it right? Did we not manage to pay $14 for jeans a quarter century ago? Is the hardship of life for Americans worth the exploitation of humans elsewhere, or an industry based on cruelty from beginning to end, whether to humans or animals?
After all, the poultry industry is telling us to...relax! (Yes, not "don't panic," but "RELAX!")
Be assured that if the dangerous types of avian influenza should occur in the United States, the flocks involved will be destroyed. They will not be sold for use as raw food.
Yes, we can relax. We can go on eating those mass-produced hens and relax in the knowledge that if we get avian flu in the U.S., only the chickens will pay.
4 comments:
"(...) But is it right? Did we not manage to pay $14 for jeans a quarter century ago? Is the hardship of life for Americans worth the exploitation of humans elsewhere, or an industry based on cruelty from beginning to end, whether to humans or animals?"
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I sometimes feel like I'm an alien or something, no one seems to understand this viewpoint! When I talk about this stuff (responsible choices as a consumer) even most of my well to do friends say stuff like "but Walmart is so _convenient!"... (even in our large town with excellent public transit, where better options in similar price ranges are equally accessible) I get so discouraged at times, feeling verrry lonely... but seeing this post gave me hope!
Hi again, Susan! Don't know if you know of this young woman who is finishing a documentary on animal shelters/rescue (Free to a good home), I just went to her blog and she asked her readers to share her link with others (as a birthday wish), so I thought I'd share with you, since it's right up your alley. :)
http://freetoagoodhomemovie.com/fghblog.html
Today there was a letter in the syndicated medical column of our local newspaper. The letter-writer was a woman who'd spent her life doing wild bird rehab as a hobby, and who'd just retired from her regular job. She was excited about now being able to devote herself to rehab work full-time, but her family had "forbidden" her to have any contact with wild birds because of avian flu worries. The woman was writing to the doctor to ask if she was really in danger of catching avian flu from doing wild bird rehab.
The doctor answered that the woman was in no danger, and that she should go ahead and enjoy her work with wild birds. But wow, the letter really brought home to me how so many of us could be affected by avian flu paranoia in ways I'd never envisioned. I already felt sorry for all the chickens and captive-raised "fowl of the world" for the mass exterminations they're being subjected to. I also had a bit of worry that an avian flu scare could lead to a ban or confiscation of pet birds (like my parrots). But now it's not hard to imagine total bans being placed on wild bird and animal rehab, feral cat colony maintenance, etc.
I think the avian flu scare could be used for cat's advantage if done so wisely. J has already used it, with illiterate flag waving people who refuse to fix their pets by telling them they're a public health hazard and unpatriotic and Homeland Security's going to get them. Some do believe her, because she says it with such sternness. J's kind of a rugged feral fixing type, skirting all the edges type.
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