Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Would that they defend the unborn with such vigor

From here:
Humane Society Sues Over Poultry Slaughter
Nov 21 6:14 PM US/Eastern

By LIBBY QUAID AP Food and Farm Writer

WASHINGTON

Chickens and turkeys should be covered by the same law as cows, pigs and other animals when they are slaughtered, the Humane Society of the United States said in a lawsuit filed Monday against the Agriculture Department.

Before becoming T-bone steak or pork ribs, livestock must be stunned or otherwise unable to feel pain, according to the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. However, the Agriculture Department maintains that the 47-year-old law does not apply to poultry.

The Humane Society argues that common methods of slaughtering poultry are not only cruel; they increase the risk of contamination that leads to food poisoning. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

Typically, birds arriving at a slaughterhouse are dumped from their crates onto conveyor belts, then shackled upside down on a conveyor line, the Humane Society said. The humane slaughter act specifically prohibits shackling and hanging of conscious animals by their legs, the Humane Society said.

I wonder.. I just wonder how many of the Humane Society are equally opposed to the pain that these other living beings feel. Do not these most helpless among us deserve at least the same deference as cows, pigs, chickens, or other animals?