Today, I experienced something horrible.

I know this isn't the right place to post this but my brain isn't exactly functioning right now. Today, I went out to take my riding practicum. On the opposite side of the arenas is the where they keep the hogs. While tacking up, we heard some of the pigs squealing...SCREAMING is more like it. I thought maybe they were castrating them but happened to look across the way right as they killed one. I went numb. I don't know how I did on my riding practicum. I ended up leaving class early b/c I couldn't take any more of the pigs' death cries.

I'm not a vegetarian but I'm not a big meat eater. I dunno...I know ppl eat them, so I'm not sure why this really bothers me--but here I am bawling my eyes out.

I just wish I could get their screaming out of my head...

OMG! That is awful. Is it where they butcher the pigs? I just read some place that they have rules and regulations that they need to use more humane treatment to prevent undo suffering of animals. Can you report this? I don't know who to at the moment but, no animal should be treated like that nor should it be within range of where people can observe whats going on. So sorry that you heard that. You need to do something to get it out of your head. I don't know what to tell you but I hope some of the others will help.

{{{zippy}}}

I don't know what to say. So sorry that you saw that and that it's hurting you so. Cyberhugs. Can you find a fur-baby to hug? That might help.

:( I think we'd all be vegetarians if we had to hear their screams! That is awful, and i'm sorry you had to experience that. I understand how you feel, When the sounds come into your head try to think of something nice right away, take care.

Hi, Zipper ~

Not much I can say that will help to remove the images stuck in your mind. What might help you is to become involved in changing the methods they use to kill the pigs...

There ARE humane methods that can be used. You might find some satisfaction in talking to the farm manager and asking why their present methods cause such distress to the animals. You might point out that whatever they are doing creats stress not only to the animals, but to members of the student body, and probably faculty members, as well.

Being a part of a University of higher?? learning, maybe they should do a little research and emply a more acceptable (to both human and animal) method of ending a life.

Do your best to try to improve the situation and I know that you'll fell better for making the effort.

Hi Tonya, I am so sorry that you had to witness such inhumane actions, I can understand how difficult it would be to try not to think about it, but maybe you can do what Phred says and talk to a Counselor about what you witnessed and how much stress it has caused you and just maybe they will do something about it.
Jackie

I know that you called mom and told her about it....but I didn't hear much, only that pigs got killed.Is that illeagle (however u spell it) there? :( sorry u saw it happen.

This may sound dumb, but I wasn't there so I have to ask: are you sure they were being killed?

I seldom post on the dog board, so I'm out of the loop - I can't get a grasp of where you were when this was happening.

Pigs can only be killed for food at a licensed slaughtering facility, but I'm sure that's not where you were, or, of course, you wouldn't be so traumatized. I mean, it would probably still be disturbing, but not so unexpected.

Were you at a school that has a vet college? If so, they would surely have euthanized by injection.

Something is wrong, dreadfully wrong, either someone is slaughtering pigs illegally or euthanizing them inhumanely. I can't think of why in the world anyone would need or want to kill a pig except for food or illness.

Maybe questions need to be aked.

The pigs, or where they use to be, is part of the univeristy's land--so I guess it's an extension of the Ag college. Up until today, I had never noticed anyone out and about with the pigs.

Mom and Pop are bunny-sitting for me while I finish finals and get ready to move. Sure do wish Miz Sophie was here now!

True, they are SUPPOSE to use human methods to slaughter but I dunno... one of my best friends from high skewl is in vet skewl right now. She told me that she had one class where every student was given a goat or lamb. After examining the animal, they had to cut its throat. What the purpose was, I'm not sure--SHE wasn't even sure. But they had a bbq afterwards (kid you not).

This whole thread has greatly disturbed me, so I can only imagine how bad you must feel to have witnessed this. I don't think there's anything I can say to ease the horrifying image, but I hope you can get it out of your head. I'm so sorry.

:(

Oh my goodness, that's just awful!!! :mad: :( That is soooo cruel! I'm so sorry you saw this, Tonya! :(

Sarah & Sadie*

{{{zippy}}}}

That's just awful. Agriculture University or not, they should NOT have been doing that so close to where others were doing other activities.

I'm assuming you had some sort of riding test, right?

Why would they have the pigs so close to the arena where you were riding? If you were taking a test, I'd complain right off that what they were doing was distracting.

I live close to MSU and they have each section seperated. No one would ever be riding in an arena to practice with pigs being slaughtered within viewing and hearing distance. :mad: :(

I'd complain to the college school board. :mad:

~Kimmy

I think if we all had to witness how animals are slaughtered (even in the normal way) there would be many more vegetarians. I am not a vegetarian but I do strive to eat less and less meat. My compassion for animals and my meat eating are something I feel very conflicted about. That said, I am very sorry that you had to witness and hear what you did. No one should have to come upon such an event unexpectingly. I think you have every right to complain to the powers that be.

Tonya, I am so very sorry you had to witness that. I completely understand your horror as I would have reacted exactly as you did. More and more, meat has become less and less a part of my diet. Maybe once a month. And while I respect every person's individual decision, still, as Spencer says, it does give us all pause for thought. Regardless, no animal, no living creature, for whatever reason, should be subjected to such a cruel and painful end to it's life. Nor should a gentle soul such as yourself be subjected to witnessing it. I hope that when you feel better, you might get to the bottom of the circumstances of this very disturbing event so that others will not have to go through what you did. I'm thinking of you sweetie.

Zippy.....I am so sorry for you! I know that if I had seen/heard that, I could not get it out of my head.
I do eat meat, but not much anymore. I rarely ever eat pork (especially after seeing Babe). Maybe I won't eat it at all now!

I love pigs! I have always wanted one for a pet. George Clooney has a pig for a pet, and has had it for years. He loves it, and I saw an interview with him talking about it- he is very serious about his pet pig.
It might sound silly, but there is something really good about a man that can love a pig!

Since Miz Sophie bun-buns isn't there, u r an Eeyore fan.....u don't have a furbaby to hug but u do have a stuffed Eeyore. ;) I have to ask.......U said that u saw one (or more) being killed, how were they killing them? How many people were there? :confused:

Hey lil Sis ~ I'm not so sure that reliving and describing what she saw is going to help Tonya to put this awful incident out of her mind. Best thing we can all do now is to reassure her that this situation CAN be changed so that it is never repeated; and encourage her to work towards that goal.

And "I" don't really want to hear the :( details - Tonya already told us enough to get her point across. Now that we're all upset about it; let's start working to change things!

Here's a {{Hug}} if that will help, Zippy. ;)

**hugs** Tonya! What a traumatic experience. The whole thing seems sketch to me, and I agree that you should definitely take this issue up to with someone at the school. I never understood why animals had to be tortured during slaughter, and it's quite disturbing. Any more images or stories like that and I would be tempted to become vegitarian! I already refuse to eat veal because of the way it's 'made'. Anyway, **hugs** to you. I'm so sorry you had to witness that! Please let us know what happens if you talk to someone at the university, but I really don't think that should have been so easily witnessed like that. :eek: :mad:

How horribly sad. In the past, I tried to become a vegetarian myself. Sorry to say it didn't work. I was raised on meat and I guess I'm used to it. However, after reading this, I think I will try again to give up eating meat or at least cut down. :(

Thanks guys for all your support. I just finished up my last week of skewl--one week of finals and then it's a nice long break!

Unfortunately, that means I may not get any answers on the 'pig case' until next semester either. I've decided to go ahead and 'investigate' but I'm not going to be able to do it for a few days. It's still pretty fresh in my mind. In addition b/c it's (same as) finals week, the 'big wigs' may not have time to deal with us 'peons.' :rolleyes:

Another thing that I have against me is that the school is an Agricultural school. Which generally means they see animals as a means of production not as living creatures that can suffer pain. I can understand that this is how people make their living and, as I stated before, I'm not a vegetarian--I just don't understand why they didn't do it somewhere else or at some other time... :mad: :(

I dunno...maybe it's just the end of the semester stress that's gettin' to me. :confused:

[ December 07, 2001: Message edited by: zippy-kat ]

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Originally posted by zippy-kat:
<STRONG>Another thing that I have against me is that the school is an Agricultural school. Which generally means they see animals as a means of production not as living creatures that can suffer pain </STRONG>

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That was a very stereotypical and generalized statement. I apologize. I understand that it is a way of life but I also understand there are more humane methods than what I witnessed...

I wasn't going to comment on this subject even tho, my heart goes out to you Tonya.
I grew up in a small rural farming community and tho I never saw an animal slaughtered, I raised sheep for fair projects,and they went to market. Call me what you will, but the only thing I regret about the whole experience which I did from the time I was 8 until 18, was that I didn't take more responsibilty with them.
Anyway, I wanted to kinda make up for the horror of this story with a magical moment of my own if you will.
Tonight I was having a very rough night at work, I got yelled at by a tempermental ER doctor, and it went downhill from there. So I was steering clear of him all night long, well then he got to teasing me whether it was b/c he knew he was hard on me or what WHO KNOWS! Anyway, I was finishing up a patient and the DR. comes into my room and says "Staci, come here for a minute." I am thinking "OH BOY! NOW WHAT!?" He says,"just for a minute, gotta be quiet" We went out to the back porch, (he was smokin') and there were 7 deer in the clearing behind the hospital!!!! It was so beautiful to see!! Right in the middle of hunting season, and here these deer knew they were close enough to town that they would be safe!! I was very glad he shared that with me!! It made my night better!!

Staci-

I'm not condemning the fact that animals are being slaughtered for food. But there's a right way and a wrong way to do so, isn't there? I hope that everyone understands that I have nothing against farmers or ranchers and their livelihood, provided their slaughter and treatment of animals is done in a proper manner. Like I've stated before I'm not a vegetarian, I do eat (some) meat. My dad's family use to raise hogs and Black Angus cattle. Mom's family raised hogs as well. So I (sort of) come from a "meat and potatoes" bkgrd myself.

I tried to do the FFA thing but Dad wouldn't let me raise a goat/pig/etc--he knew what would happen and we lived in the city so there was no way we could keep it! Instead I judged Quarter Horses. (He wouldn't let me take/keep any of those either...lol Still won't! lol :rolleyes: )

Staci, I'm glad you shared the 'deer' moment, no pun intended. One time at my grandfather's house, I got about five feet away from an albino deer. He was REALLY neat looking--and didn't seem to be nervous at all. I have a picture of him somewhere.... Snow white body, a pinky nose--his antlers weren't very big--it was umm...what's the word for antler season? lol rut? :o My mind just went blank...*blonde moment*

[ December 07, 2001: Message edited by: zippy-kat ]

Tonya, first of all, I am sorry for taking so long to respond. I have been busy at work and have not had time to check my favorite website :(

I am really sorry that you had to experience that traumatic screaming. That must have been horrible. No animal deserves a cruel death like that. I think, if the majority of people eat animals without a second thought, we owe it to the animals to at least honor them (and appreciate them for providing food) by giving them a quick, painless death. At the very least they should have made sure no onlookers could hear the horrible cries coming from those poor creatures.

Stories like that are what made me stop eating meat altogether nearly 8 years ago.

Yeah, Madonna has taken up hunting now, so she can do just exactily that. That is what she SAYS anyway.....whatever.
And that accent does seem to come and go a bit, huh?

Oh Tonya, I know you aren't against farmers etc I didn't think that at all.
I totally think that what you experienced is absolutely horrid. And I think you should investigate it.
What they did was very wrong. I can't imagine their reasoning behind it at all. There is no excuse.
I hope over time you can heal and cope with this.
Hugs to you!

Oh that's horrible, horrible, horrible! I am not a vegetarion, but if I heard the cries of a poor little pig, I think my mind would change. I know how you feel, as I saw a squirell killed once. It was awful to see! Feel better soon, and find a pet or someone to hug!

Thanks guys...I was out at the equation center again today but there weren't any pigs around. Don't know if they all received the same fate, if they moved them somewhere else, or what. :confused:

I have yet to find someone to talk to (re: Agricultural ppl who were suppose to be in chargeof the pigs.

This is too weird that this was bumped to the top again.
Tonight I was on my way to my car after work, and there were 4-5 deer out feeding again!

ZIPPY CAT, THAT IS TOO HORRIBLE. REMINDS ME OF "SILENCE OF THE LAMBS" WHEN CLARICE COULD NOT FORGET THE SCREAMING OF THE LAMBS. :(
I AGREE WITH SO MANY REPLIES. IF WE KNEW OR THOUGHT ABOUT HOW THE ANIMALS WERE KEPT, LET ALONE SLAUGHTERED FOR OUR CONSUMPTION, EVERY TIME WE ATE MEAT....WILL WE WOULDN'T EAT MEAT! SURE HOPE YOU CAN FIND OUT THE TRUTH AT THE UNIVERSITY. SOUNDS SUSPICIOUS. :confused:

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Originally posted by Spencer-The-Lion:
<STRONG>

...does she hunt fox?</STRONG>

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I don't know if she hunts fox, but probably since she is trying to be very English.
When I saw the clip about her hunting/shooting, she said that she has gone back to eating meat, and feels that hunting and eating what you kill is kinder.....it was something like that anyway.

Ummm....yeah. Sorry Mrz. M, I ain't gonna kill/eat "someone" I "know." As long as I dont' see the meat in the 'animal form' (IE right before it's killed/during the process) I'm ok.

I always thought if I had cows, I'd name them Burger King, Porter House, T-Bone, etc....but even then it wouldn't help. They would probably end up being sent to Best Friends or somewhere! lol

Well, nooo...I just couldn't kill anything and then turn around and eat it.

Yes Spencer, that is the quote I heard from her (it was a magazine, with a picture of her shooting- she is taking 'lessons' now).

I wonder if she does the whole process, i.e. cleaning, butchering, etc.?
I'll bet not....... :confused: :( :confused:

Zippy -- what did your riding instructor have to say about it? You ought to talk to him/her first and then go to the administration. That's beyond awful that they would even consider doing that near the riding arena.

Now, y'all KNOW Madonna isn't plucking those birds. She has peons for that part of the operation. Could you just see her gutting an animal??? What a gruesome image -- the platinum blond (wannabe) bombshell doing something like that?

Anyway, Zippy, I'm sorry as everyone else that you had to witness whatever they were doing to those pigs. Hope Miz Bunny gets home soon so you can hug her and let her nuzzle you better. Hugs to ya!

LOL Spencer! So many of your posts have songs in them and I wind up having them in my head the rest of the day! :D

Spencer....!
;) :D :D :D ;)