Why doesn't anyone get upset about chickens, pigs or cows, why only whales?

We can be glad we needen’t worry about our cattle being endangered yet.
rooetyoo As far as cruelty meted out to animals is concerned people for animal rights take into consideration cruelty against all animals.Cattle are “reared ” in farms for various purposes like for its meat,fur etc. And there are laws governing these issues as well.

Not all whales are endangered species. And what is done to cattle, calves chained to dog houses so they don’t develop muscle as well as factory farming of chickens, where they are debeaked and kept in tiny cages and hogs, etc. is truly cruel by anyone’s definition. So why only get upset about whales? All livestock are sentient creatures.

This is probably a debate for the ages because it is indeed rooted in theological teachings. Perhaps it would be better answered by a Monk who will dig out earthworms before a building is erected; as all life has equal value. But if I had to guess:

Domestic livestock is raised for a purpose; to achieve that purpose they must be killed. I’m assuming that more people sit down to a chicken, steak or pork chop dinner than do a plate of whale meat. Yet there are those who do use the whale for sustenance.

The whale is the apex (if you will) of his kingdom. Visible, awe striking and diminishing in numbers. I think there is no real shortage of chickens, pigs & cows in the animal kingdom. And while they are raised domestically, remember that there is also permitted deer hunting to thin herds and also the kangaroo cull. This is truly less for harvest than it is for herd health. Nonetheless, sanctioned killing for sport.

While I agree that here is an argument for equality; are we going to fight for pheasant rights, humane killing of the fox, wild turkey, ducks & geese. The list and the fights would be endless. I’m not a hunter and do not come from a family of hunters. While I find it distasteful; I don’t shed a tear when I see duck hunters.

As far as a resource point of view, many populations are declining from over fishing not just whales. Indeed there was a huge push for more humane tuna harvesting so as not harm dolphins. But nobody cried for the tuna…only the dolphins…perhaps they’re cuter? The same point could be made for sharks.

It can’t be an argument for intelligence, as our porcine brother is quite bright.

So in conclusion, I don’t know, I can only guess. I can also guess from reading your question and subsequent responses that this is an issue you would debate ad infinitum. There are many vegetarians, vegans, etc. that will have better answers than I. While I thought I was a fairly compassionate person, I also take my steak medium-rare and eat sushi regularly; so perhaps I’m not the best person to answer.

Having observed manual whaling, small farm lamb slaughter and industrial cow slaughter, I rank my preference for eating in that order – if for no other reason than the shape and health of the animals prior to slaughter.
While I agree there should be regulations in place to prevent over-fishing and protect the health of live stock (a few good reasons), I don’t believe in a vegatarian lifestyle – this may be because I was born and raised in a country that doesn’t exactly encourage it

How we humans value the lives of animals comes down to a tug-of-war between two considerations: We find them useful as dead products, but we also have an innate capacity for compassion.

As long as a certain animal’s value as a dead product (fur, leather, meat, etc.) is high enough, we will tend to smother whatever feelings of compassion we might instinctively feel for them and rationalize our killing of them based on some arbitrary hierarchy of life. Back when whalebone was in high demand for corsets and homes were illuminated by whale oil lamps, no one was the least bit concerned about whale welfare. Now that we find them less useful dead, we allow ourselves to see that this is a creature perhaps not so very different from us, capable of suffering, worthy of life.

The urgings of compassion are subtle and soft-voiced, easily drowned out by the strident impulses of self-interest. It’s only when we stop looking at the world around us through the lens of what we can get out of it to satisfy our desires that we can see that other beings have a worth that doesn’t flow from us. To kill an animal for our own use, we have to shut out this insight that the boundary between us may not be so real as we like to think. This subtle insight is arguably what makes us human, after all.

I would disagree that no one cares about the raising and slaughtering of food animals. As more becomes known about it, more organizations and individuals oppose it. PETA is only the lunatic fringe, and more opposition is coming, ironically, from the people who think that food needs to be better quality than what the CAFOs are putting out.

That said, industry (of all kinds) tends to keep their more horrific practices under wraps. (“Pay no attention to that slaughter behind the curtain!”) People know, at some level, that their chickens and cows are treated horribly, but the industry consipres with peoples’ own willingness to look the other way because they need to feed their families on the wages they’re making, and chicken breasts at $2.99 a pound is the only way they know how to do it.

That said, whale meat is a niche product eaten by fewer people than is beef or chicken. It’s easy to point at and cry “Foul!”, especially with watchdog groups like Greenpeace pointing out the travesties. Whales are not factory-farmed, nor is their flesh sold at the local grocery, so there’s less of a feeling that it’s really necessary to kill them. Plus, like dolphins, they’re a kind of ecological bellwether. This is also why people feel no guilt about killing the tuna that get caught in tuna nets, but not the dolphins.

Greenpeace = environmental protection group

Unethical treatment of farm animals = ethical problem

That’s not Greenpeace’s domain. Some people (like myself) do get upset about chickens, pigs, and cows and choose not to participate in their abuse and subsequent slaughter.

Greenpeace=never let facts get in the way of a good argument

Some interesting responses but I think Harp hit the nail on the head. It is primarily the Japanese who eat the whale meat, most others feel as if they are consuming the star of Free Willie so they are put off at the thought of it. Or they feel as if whales and dolphins are more valuable because they have more brain power. But cows et al don’t have that appeal even though pigs are reputed to be extremely intelligent. I eat meat but I always try to buy free range. Of course depending on where you live, the government’s definition of free range varies tremendously and there is another question, why is free range more expensive when it requires less care and feed??? Life is full of mysteries. I just wish animals were treated with more respect as they are being slaughtered. I spend time in Darwin and the live export trade is very economically rewarding so the road trains are loaded with double decker live cattle haulers going to the port. They are bawling and screaming in terror, and packed in so tightly they can’t fall down. By the way, the Japanese accuse the Australians of being two faced about the whole whaling issue because Aussies eat their national emblem, kangaroos and emus and have no compunction about that! Nuff said, thank you all for your responses.

@rooeytoo: “why is free range more expensive when it requires less care and feed?”

Well, it’s like this. Some versions of “free range” involve chickens in a big huge barn with a tiny door to the yard that none of them go out of because they’ve been raised to be afraid, and then a premium price is paid because the farmer knows that he can charge it for “free range” chicken.

However, for meat that is somewhat more honestly “free range,” such as pastured beef or buffalo, did you know that it can take two years to raise these to market weight on just grass, but if you fatten ‘em up in a feedlot it only takes a season? That is part of why it’s more expensive. Factory farm meat is so cheap because CAFOs are (A) more “efficient” at fattening up the animals in a shorter time, and (B) because there are hidden costs that are paid not by the person who buys the meat but by the community (such as the stench of manure lagoons) or the government.

A truly good free range habitat, like the one that farmer Joel Salatin provides on his farm actually requires more diligent management than the animals get in a CAFO. It’s not like they just release the calves into the wild in the spring and shoot and butcher them where they stand in the autumn.

Also, like anything else that is higher quality than the competition, free-range meat can command a higher price simply because people are willing to pay it. Supply and demand 101.