In the area of farming, medication has facilitated raising of livestock in extreme confinement by continuous ingestion of drugs to counter the inevitable toll of such stressful conditions. Throughout the ages there have been compassionate individuals who argued for a greater respect for animals, but in the days of ignorance it was easier to dismiss them as sentimental fools. Nowadays scientific experimenters are in a sense digging their own graves by proving time and again that animals experience emotional and physical pain in much the same way as humans. Animals are increasingly used in experiments demonstrating that they experience the anguish of maternal deprivation, peer rejection or stress from overcrowding much as humans do. The reason for such vigorous resistance to reform in the area of animal welfare is the same as that which perpetuated slavery so long.
Animal cruelty is big business.
Thank you for your refreshing words from Sylvia Wright in her interview with veterinary ethicist Jerrold Tannenbaum in the spring 2000 issue of the magazine. Mr. Tannenbaum articulated very clearly the growing confusion among people between animal rights and animal welfare, and how that confusion has developed and how it is being manipulated by protest organizations with dangerous goals. Too often these days, individuals who have no experience with livestock and working animals criticize the care given by knowledgeable people. Obviously, he truly believes that the tail wags the dog. In a more likely scenario, people have spent increasingly larger sums of money on their companion's health because they care about the well-being of animals.