Auction

Looong day. Goddamn, livestock auctions are REALLY depressing, awful places to be. I thought I was emotionally prepared, but... Seeing these things in person is upsetting, and the reality takes on a different level of meaning and realization when you witness it yourself. The animals truly are treated like objects. We did rescue ten broilers (cornish cross) from 100% certain death, though. A few of the group may have to be put down because of health issues, but most should make it at least a while. (Cornish cross don't live for very long no matter how well you treat them--they simply grow too unnaturally and often have heart attacks at a young age.) The poor cornish cross were so pitiful (covered in crap and wet and dirty and miserable), we just had to help them. They were peeping in the crates on the way back. They are just babies after all, only six weeks old. I also bought three young old english game bantam pullets myself because they're adorable and cheap and I just had to bust some living things out of there myself, with the little money I had in my bag.

I was thankful that most of the poultry up for auction was not food animals, though--mostly exotics and gamey breeds who went for generally more than a bird for eating goes for. There were meat rabbits and more cornish cross there, but they were too expensive for us to buy.

Most depressing was definitely seeing the pigs and cows, though. You try watching tiny calves who still have their umbilical cords attached being sold for veal, innocently tottering on unstable legs into the auction yard where they look about in confusion at the people and get pushed around if they don't go fast enough or in the right direction. And scared milk cows past the peak of their productivity, eyes rolling and staggering about, around $50 each, off to the slaughter house with them. The pigs' skins were all scratched up, they were shivering from the cold, and squealing horribly. Little piglets, too. One person put a live pig in their car's trunk. The livestock handlers were rough with the animals, who were almost all terrified. One livestock handler picked up a tiny calf who was lying down for a second by the scruff of his or her neck. They kept hitting all the animals and scaring them, forcing them forward if they didn't want to go. A calf came and was trying to suckle on my finger as they were about to force him or her into the auction yard.

But ultimately, describing it doesn't say anywhere near as much as being there. When you're looking straight into the eyes of the animals themselves and then seeing how they are treated, how little their lives are worth to people, the situation has another gravity. When you're there, the wrongness of the situation is so apparent. It's disturbing. There are auctions for animals three days out of the week at this facility, every week. Animals all over, everywhere. Day old babies, old and decrepit animals, and everything in between. 80-90% of the animals there are off to have their throats slit soon, to become hamburgers and chicken salads and ham and so on.

I could go on and on, but ultimately I'll cut myself off. If I rant about it, it just makes me dwell on it more, and feel more and more upset about humanity and the food industry and the fact that all of this is constantly going on.

I just wish I could save them all.

Auction

Looong day. Goddamn, livestock auctions are REALLY depressing, awful places to be. I thought I was emotionally prepared, but... Seeing these things in person is upsetting, and the reality takes on a different level of meaning and realization when you witness it yourself. The animals truly are treated like objects. We did rescue ten broilers (cornish cross) from 100% certain death, though. A few of the group may have to be put down because of health issues, but most should make it at least a while. (Cornish cross don't live for very long no matter how well you treat them--they simply grow too unnaturally and often have heart attacks at a young age.) The poor cornish cross were so pitiful (covered in crap and wet and dirty and miserable), we just had to help them. They were peeping in the crates on the way back. They are just babies after all, only six weeks old. I also bought three young old english game bantam pullets myself because they're adorable and cheap and I just had to bust some living things out of there myself, with the little money I had in my bag.

I was thankful that most of the poultry up for auction was not food animals, though--mostly exotics and gamey breeds who went for generally more than a bird for eating goes for. There were meat rabbits and more cornish cross there, but they were too expensive for us to buy.

Most depressing was definitely seeing the pigs and cows, though. You try watching tiny calves who still have their umbilical cords attached being sold for veal, innocently tottering on unstable legs into the auction yard where they look about in confusion at the people and get pushed around if they don't go fast enough or in the right direction. And scared milk cows past the peak of their productivity, eyes rolling and staggering about, around $50 each, off to the slaughter house with them. The pigs' skins were all scratched up, they were shivering from the cold, and squealing horribly. Little piglets, too. One person put a live pig in their car's trunk. The livestock handlers were rough with the animals, who were almost all terrified. One livestock handler picked up a tiny calf who was lying down for a second by the scruff of his or her neck. They kept hitting all the animals and scaring them, forcing them forward if they didn't want to go. A calf came and was trying to suckle on my finger as they were about to force him or her into the auction yard.

But ultimately, describing it doesn't say anywhere near as much as being there. When you're looking straight into the eyes of the animals themselves and then seeing how they are treated, how little their lives are worth to people, the situation has another gravity. When you're there, the wrongness of the situation is so apparent. It's disturbing. There are auctions for animals three days out of the week at this facility, every week. Animals all over, everywhere. Day old babies, old and decrepit animals, and everything in between. 80-90% of the animals there are off to have their throats slit soon, to become hamburgers and chicken salads and ham and so on.

I could go on and on, but ultimately I'll cut myself off. If I rant about it, it just makes me dwell on it more, and feel more and more upset about humanity and the food industry and the fact that all of this is constantly going on.

I just wish I could save them all.