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Evening · 11:18 AM

I have been a vegetarian for 10 years. I was also a vegetarian on and off for a few years before that. I have also spent my life in the animal/wildlife industries, only 2 things on my resume have nothing to do with animals or the environment. I do not eat any meat, including fish or chicken, I do not eat products that have ingredients made from animals that have been killed- gelatine, taurine, rennet, battery eggs, that means I don't even drink things like Red Bull. I do not use products that have used animal testing, including my toothpaste, detergent, shampoo and conditioner, make-up and clothes powder. I do not wear or use fur, leather, feathers or sheepskin. So obviously, I'm pretty straight out with what I do and don't use and eat.

But-

I do not push my vegetarian lifestyle on anyone else. People have different views on animal rights, intelligence, status. A lot of people love COMPANION animals, critters we deem intelligent- dogs, cats, parrots; but they will eat the 'lesser intelligent' food animals- sheep, cows, chickens, fish. A lot of people out there have the view that these animals are 'stupid' and are 'made to be eaten'. I could easily debate the intelligence of these animals. No animal in my mind is 'stupid', every living thing has the intelligence it needs, a cow doesn't need to build houses or perform surgeries. It needs to be a cow. That doesn't make it stupid.

But animals are often classed by order of their capabilities and intelligence, and by what they can provide for us. We use them the way we need them. A dog is considered a pet in western society because it can be easily trained and is faithful, a sheep is used for wool and eaten because it has wool and can't provide the companionship that a dog does.

I am not a vegetarian because I think every animal should be running through fields of flowers and butterflies. I am a vegetarian because I don't like the disrespect a great deal of product animals are put through. These animals are losing their lives so we can keep ours, and I think people- despite how we class these creatures- should just be a little bit more respectful and thankful, give these critters a quality life and quick death where they aren't panicking and knowing they are next.

A lot of people are against one thing- such as poaching for fur- and okay with another thing- such as eating farmed animals. To me this is like comparing apples with oranges. Poaching and farming for fur can involve hunting wild and endangered animals in inhumane ways, and only using the skin for clothing. These animals are not killed with a bullet, they are beaten to death or electrocuted, or simply skinned alive (I've seen footage of that and it was the most sickening thing I have ever seen in my life) so that the skin is not ruined with bullet holes, it remains in good condition to be worked with later. The rest of the animal- alive or dead- is disposed of.
Farming animals can be seen as different. They are not wild, endangered animals being hunted to extinction, and the entire animal is used for food, leather, fertilizer, etc.. This is how a lot of people see it. As long as an animal is farmed in stable numbers and used productively, then it is okay. Of course the treatment of a lot of these animals can be debated, but this is how a lot of people see it.
Another example would be whaling. MOST people out there are against whaling. A lot of people know that the whale tourism industry is worth BILLIONS of dollars in comparison to slaughtering them for 'scientific research'. A lot of people are against killing these creatures because they are beautiful, a lot of them are endangered, and they are hunted in unbelievable numbers. But is ALL whaling wrong?
What about native people who hunt whales? They kill ONE whale, and they will use the entire animal for food, tools and fuel, and it will feed their entire village.
The thing that is wrong with a lot of things, the thing that gets people really fired up, is the unstable, inhumane, uncontrolled hunting and abuse of wild animals for ridiculous reasons. The thing that is lesser opposed is farming controlled populations of animals to provide us will a range of needs.

I have seen the way these animals are treated as soon as they re loaded onto the truck, my uncle and aunty used to own a farm. The man who came to take them to market would scream and yell and shock them with an electric probe and the cows would run onto the truck in a panic. The mother cows (who stayed on the farm to breed the calves that go to market) had learned something was up over the years, and would run along the pen calling out to the calves because they had seen them being taken away year after year. It wasn't an easy thing to watch.

Does that mean though that I think we should all become vegetarians? Nope. It just means I think things should be done a little nicer. Like I said, I never push my vegetarian views on anyone, and I expect the same respect from others in return. We can't all share the same views on these things, that's why there are vegans, vegetarians, and those so called vegetarians who still eat chicken and fish.
Some people can't be vegetarian for health reasons. Others follow religious reasons. Others are concerned about certain aspects of animal treatment, but are less concerned about other aspects. Some people are unaware or have never really thought about these things. Some people really just don't give a crap.

Education is always needed to make people aware or what can really be happening, but that won't convert everyone to the same views on animal treatment and respect.