Cattle rustling in New England!

[Bonny]

I live near farms and see cows going by all the time. They pack them in. I don't know the exact number but it is many. They aren't cared for like horses! My guess is that you can get at least 15 or 20 in a trailer at a time.

Your average goose neck heavy duty trailer which is pulled by a 3/4 ton pick up with duals will hold up to 10 head beef fat cattle (girls called heifers, boys called steers) lets say up to 1200 pounds each.

Cows are female cattle which have been breed & have had calves. They can be beef or dairy breeds.

A farmer that raises animals for consumption takes good care of them because they are his/her livelihood. A person can get injured or killed by farm animals if they are not careful around them.

Yes, the animals can also be injured. That is where you call the veterinary to come & put them to sleep if nothing can be done for them or have someone shot them if you plan to consume the meat. We had a steer break a leg years ago & the veterinary could not do a thing for him so we planned to consume the meat instead of wasting it.

Farming is not for the faint of heart & the products are there to feed a world of hungry people.

[Cataholic]

Your average goose neck heavy duty trailer which is pulled by a 3/4 ton pick up with duals will hold up to 10 head beef fat cattle (girls called heifers, boys called steers) lets say up to 1200 pounds

A farmer that raises animals for consumption takes good care of them because they are his/her livelihood.

Farming is not for the faint of heart & the products are there to feed a world of hungry people.

Not to quibble with you, but neither of these statments are overly accurate. Abuse of farm animals is at the top of many humane lobbying groups agenda, and we could feed many, many more people with the grain we feed our livestock, then with the flesh of the livestock.

[Grace]

As a side note, the Amish are big into puppy mills - especially in Pennsylvania.

[Karen]

As a side note, the Amish are big into puppy mills - especially in Pennsylvania.

Which caused me to lose respect for them in a big way. I know it is not every Amish family, but still, I don't care who you are, puppy mills are intolerable.

[phesina]

I'm with you there, Karen. Absolutely intolerable and unforgivable.

[Cataholic]

Grace and Karen- absolutely! I should not have used the term 'farm animals', as that is too narrow. Puppy millers, circus exploiters, carnival people, the list goes on. People that "use" animals for commercial uses do not treat animals well, not by a long shot.

[Lady's Human]

And how much of the abuse caught on video has been staged by PETA et al. to prove the abuse is happening?

Sorry, I'm surrounded by farms, and the animals seem pretty well cared for.

Put down the broad brush, you're spattering yourself with.....

[pomtzu]

And how much of the abuse caught on video has been staged by PETA et al. to prove the abuse is happening?

Sorry, I'm surrounded by farms, and the animals seem pretty well cared for.

Put down the broad brush, you're spattering yourself with.....

The videos I was referring to, were filmed at some of the large meat slaughter houses and packing plants - in the west or mid-west I believe it was. But many of the big commercial farms have deplorable conditions also - animals so cramped and crowded together that they can't even turn around or lay down is only one of the inhumane incidents that I have seen. One video showed a steer that had been shot in the head at the slaughter house but didn't die, so one of the workers was standing on it's snout to try to smother it to death. Another bullet would have been much more humane, but bullets cost money, and why waste money when smothering it didn't cost a cent? Of course this is just one example, and there have been many others involving pigs, chickens, etc., and staged or not staged, it is so unnecessary! And lest we forget the practice of shark finning in other countries............
JMO, but I don't feel the treatment many of these farm raised for consumption animals receive is at all necessary, and in no way acceptable.


ETA: And the majority of these facilities and farms that are guilty of this abuse, are the ones that provide meat and poultry to the fast food chains and chain restaurants, and also school systems, so the demand for constant supplies of meat/poultry is enormous. Of course they won't pamper their charges, as they are in it for the big profits they make, and not for being even remotely concerned for the welfare of their money makers.

[Bonny]

Not to quibble with you, but neither of these statments are overly accurate. Abuse of farm animals is at the top of many humane lobbying groups agenda, and we could feed many, many more people with the grain we feed our livestock, then with the flesh of the livestock.

They are accurate & I live in a farming community on a farm & we raise cattle. Why would we abuse our animals? Enjoy your bowl of cereal people can not live on grain alone they need protein in their diet.

The lobbying groups should spend more time & be more concerned about the conditions of humans.

[Alysser]

I went on a field trip back in high school and we went on a trip to a LOCAL dairy farm. The cows were treated as royally as a cow can be treated, and you'd be able to tell otherwise. It was so clean to, I mean sure it still smelled but it was immaculate for a cow farm. The cows even had names.

I think we all know abuse happens, but I think that is more on the factory farms then anything else. I don't think anyone is denying that fact but not all farm animals are treated terribly. Wouldn't make much sense to me, especially for a LOCAL smaller farmer to abuse his livelihood like that. There are bad apples, just like there are with pet owners.

[sasvermont]

I live in Vermont - and have lived near two farms for at least 15 years. One farmer treats his animals like pets, but doesn't have the Vet come out unless its an emergency. He doesn't REALLY take care of them like you and I would take care of a dog or a cat. They are way over-fed and seldom have the hooves trimmed.

The other farm, on the other side of me is in business. They have clean, clean environments for their cattle and they have a Vet there often. They also sell their milk to a BST free conglomerate. Actually, I had several cows in my yard this morning on my way to work. I had to herd them back to the farm with my car horn! It was pretty funny.

So, each farmer decides what he/she is willing to spend on their animals. Who is to say what is correct, other than those times when neglect is evident.

Farmers around here are finding it difficult to dispose of sick cattle so they often take them into the woods, shoot them and the bury them with a backhoe. I don't know what they do in other farms, but here it is expensive to dispose of sick or dying cows.

Anywho, I imagine each state has its own laws and requirements when it comes to selling a product to the public vs. having cattle/animals as pets.

[Lady's Human]

Ag laws are set by the federal government as a baseline. The states can modify, but not avoid federal standards. (they can make stricter standards, but cannot go below federal baselines set by USDA)

[Freedom]

Goodness this thread really got off topic!!

The 2 farmers own the 49 head of cattle between them. That is all they have. They said they count their stock daily and were stunned that morning one went and . . . only the 2 goats were out in the pasture!