Outrage Should Extend Beyond Vick

I have read several postings online by some people who believe that if Michael Vick continues to play football in the NFL then football fans should boycott the NFL. Although Vick's brand of animal abuse is more unvarnished and seems more malignant than other types that exist under our noses every day, attempting to punish the league alone would be wrong.

Abuse of animals in our daily lives is ubiquitous. Whether it is in meat production, animal testing in any number of industries (pharmaceuticals, household products, medical research); in canned hunts or at some zoos, circuses and rodeos; whether it is in the fur industry or the way animal hides and fur are processed for use in numerous toys and clothing brands, animals are suffering and dying under horrific conditions around the clock and in every corner of the developed and developing world.

Are Vick's critics eager to rush to the PETA website to learn more about those issues and to launch boycotts against other perpetrators of unnecessary torture of innocent animals? What Vick has done is despicable. He will carry the shame of these events with him for some time to come. But society's outrage would be misplaced if its cyclical indignation about how we treat animals in America rested solely on Vick's shoulders.

Vick is a big man in the public eye. But he is a small fish compared to some others you can read about who are torturing and killing millions of animals a year in order to make a profit. Please visit the PETA website.

Comments

[rrrina]

Alec is right on target. With all the (very warranted) publicity about Michael Vick and his alleged abuses regarding dogs,
we must remember that the horrific conditions in which the dogs were kept, used, and ultimately killed, represents the daily reality for *billions* (not millions) of animals every year who have the misfortune to be caught in the factory farming abomination. Farm animals are raised in horrifyingly cruel concrete concentration camp conditions and killed in the most barbaric ways for our carnivorous gluttony. Meat is an addiction, not a necessity for human survival. As per a 400-page UN report entitled "Livestock's Long Shadow," a whopping 18% (more than cars, trucks, buses, planes, and all forms of transportation combined) of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture. If we are to survive, as a species, we need to wake up and realize that a plant-based diet is better for human health, the environment, and, of course, the animals.
By the way, compassion is compassion. It's not a choice between people and animals. I became a registered nurse 27 years ago because I could not stand to watch someone suffer without doing something to alleviate it. I became a vegetarian 23 years ago (after seeing the Animals Film and reading Peter Singer's Animal Liberation) for the same reason.

Rina Deych, RN

[HeartRN]

Yes Alec, Michael Vick is an awful human being who deserves whatever punishment bestowed upon him. However, there are far worse people in the world. What he doesn't deserve is all this media attention. He's a publicity hound relishing in every moment of this of unnecessary and negative coverage. Now that he has plead guilty, perhaps we can get back to more note worthy news stories about Britney, Lindsey and Paris.

[kahalaman]

Alec,
Thanks for using this issue to point to the big picture of animal abuse. Society is so removed from the plight of animal suffering, that millions can claim themselves to be animal lovers and still eat meat. Anyone who has a real heart and views documentaries on animals being subjected to horrors of the meat factories would want to look into the vegetarian alternative. People who think they need to have meat in their diet to be healthy and strong should consider what a veg diet has done for people like Martina Navratilova, who has become stronger, faster and healthier by making the switch.

[rrrina]

Alec is right on target. With all the (very warranted) publicity about Michael Vick and his alleged abuses regarding dogs,
we must remember that the horrific conditions in which the dogs were kept, used, and ultimately killed, represents the daily reality for *billions* (not millions) of animals every year who have the misfortune to be caught in the factory farming abomination. Farm animals are raised in horrifyingly cruel concrete concentration camp conditions and killed in the most barbaric ways for our carnivorous gluttony. Meat is an addiction, not a necessity for human survival. As per a 400-page UN report entitled "Livestock's Long Shadow," ( http://www.wellfedworld.org/globalwarming.htm ) a whopping 18% (more than cars, trucks, buses, planes, and all forms of transportation combined) of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture. If we are to survive, as a species, we need to wake up and realize that a plant-based diet is better for human health, the environment, and, of course, the animals.
By the way, compassion is compassion. It's not a choice between people and animals. I became a registered nurse 27 years ago because I could not stand to watch someone suffer without doing something to alleviate it. I became a vegetarian 23 years ago (after seeing the Animals Film and reading Peter Singer's Animal Liberation) for the same reason.

[fraziersview]

Progressives need to remember what they are trying to build. If creating a more balanced political environment, where pragmatism and conscience coincide, or restoring a government powered (or atleast inspired) by the people, is the objective, then Progressives must to define their values. Torturing animals is not one of them. Empathy is clearly the core to morality, it is also what sets us apart as a spiecies. Should we therefore conclude that those of higher intelligence are more apt to display empathy? And if so, should we then deem empathy a sign of true intellctual capability when assessing our political leaders?

[kahalaman]

Alec,
Thank you for writing on the humane view of the big picture here. Your second paragraph outlying the abuse of animal cruelty sums up the situation perfectly.
I became a vegetarian at age 12 after seeing a film on slaughter houses and have had no desire to eat meat for the last thirty years. The assertion that meat is necessary for a healthy diet is a lie.
We are culturely conditioned to accept the cruel teatment of animals as normal. I sincerely believe as long as we are desensitised to the horrors that these poor animals go through, we will block a big part of our compassionate nature.

[skateboy30]

I love lamb, I love foie gras, I love duck, the cuter it looks the better it seems to taste. I also have no issue with watching slaughters and butchering. I think if you eat meat you should be OK with it.

While fighting dogs in a supposedly civilized society is wrong the most repugnant part to me is drowning and strangling these dogs. When it becomes necessary to do so animals can and should be put down in as humane a way as possible. While I don't think dog fighting is necessary, if Vick was going to do it, I am sure he could have gotten a hold of what the vets use to put dogs down. Heavan knows NFLers have access to drugs they shouldn't (steroids).

[Novelene]

We often hear ''it's ONLY a dog,'' or ''it's JUST a cat,'' or ''it's NOT a human being'' in defense of inhumane treatment of animals. This implies that as a society we have a higher code reserved for dealing with people. I have found the contrary to be true. How a person treats animals is how he treats humans. It's a no-fail barometer for judging character. There's an old saying: ''Love me, love my dog,'' which is meant to say 'if you love me, you'll have to love my dog as well.' What about this? 'Love a dog, any dog, then I'll know how you'll love me.'

[jhNY]

By examining our teeth and the length of our digestive tract, and comparing them to those of carnivores and plant-eaters, scientists may wish to conclude that humans are naturally vegetarians. But by examining the explosive growth of brain to body-weight ratio in the development of modern man, they have also concluded that the modern human brain came about because our ancestors began to eat meat, which allowed for that growth. In other words, we have the brains to consider our place in the universe and our relationship to other living beings precisely because our ancestors ate enough meat to get the brainpower that now allows us to do so. And now we are able to consider taking up vegetarianism with that brain, whose remarkable power derives from the ingestion of meat. Funny world, isn't it?

[missy538]

I have always applauded the efforts by you and , honestly, your former wife in animal rights issues. However, eating animals and the torture that results, is not the same as maliciously choosing a ferocious breed of dogs to fight them, and then torture those who are "weak" enough to lose. It's only those of a depraved heart and savage nature that could do so. It's not the same as those making a buck off animals in the circus, torturing chickens for food, etc. Those acts are despicable, but this is worse Athletes are given a free pass for all sorts of heinous acts, and it is a disgrace to inject race into something that has no place, and makes anything else that has been racism seem incredible. You raise good points, but the big picture cannot be compared.

[Ipanemagirl]

I am releaved to see that someone brought this nasty subject to light! Its uncomprehesible to me that in USA we still close our eyes to the torture of animals we kill to eat every day. It would not take much to raise the animals in a hi umane stress free , pain free life , until we actually kill them humanely. We have the technology to do this, and I think as citizens we should demand that this is done ASAP. Boycotting would be a good way to start with a lot of media help. I myself have not bought a foster farms chicken in many years and buy range free eggs, etc. I never buy veal...but I think americans are very sheltered from the ugly reality of what really happens to their food before it reaches the nice packs at the supermarket. They need to be exposed a lot more to this grim reality and MEDIA, we need your help with this!!!...any brave courageous reporters willing to take on those hog farms, veal farms , chicken mass productions?? At least its a good cause to champion, and could eventually result in better living conditions for these unhappy tortured
animals who have feelings and who do suffer on a daily basis all their short lives until their eventual slaughter. Can we be a Great Country when we still allow such primitive torturing to take place routinely as though it did not concern us???
I commend Alec Baldwin for bringing up this subject, and maybe Vick's bad behaviour can lead to more awareness on this subject until something will be done to change those medieval and nasty conditions. Sorry, I am brazilian and my english is not too good , but i wanted to respond on this subject that I very much care about! Thanks for reading.

[aembry]

Alec, get real. If Michael Vick is allowed to return to pro ball it will be another outstanding example of how justice is done here. All concerned get in a room and start throwing money against the wall. The one who sticks the most wins. If Vick is allowed to return the entire league should be destroyed, some of them in the way that that pussy destroyed dogs.

[ADunafraid]

PETA kills animals and they rationalize it by saying that they are humanely putting them out of their misery. With all the money in PETA's coffers they should build sanctuaries for these animals as opposed to saving them to humanely kill them.
PETA is a hypocritical organization and they are using this incident to raise their own bank accounts. Don't give to PETA.

[zjr909]

I had no idea, until reading the various Huffington posts regarding Michael Vick, how many people in this supposedly "enlightened" blogging community truly regard animals as inferior beings. The lion is not superior to the antelope simply because she can kill him. Nature does not confer superiority upon the predator over the prey. Otherwise, nature surely would not have let the dinosaur go extinct. Apparently, though, a lot of people (way too many) are still hung up on humans being the biggest and best there could ever be. The animals we've spent thousands of years domesticating can no longer survive in the wild; through no fault of theirs they depend completely upon humans for their survival. And, guess what? Ownership confers responsibility. I can't say if Vick is getting what he deserves or not; I can only say that the dogs he abused deserved better than what they got. Nor is it necessary to save every brutalized animal before you have a right to save the first one. Mother Theresa once said that she could only concentrate on helping one person at a time - because if she tried to focus on the enormity of the problem she'd be too discouraged to do anything. Ditto the treatment of animals.

[Robert59]

Good post. I watched a video yesterday of tapes taken of poultry, hog, and cattle production. They made me sick to my stomach and make the worst hunter look like a paragon of kindness.

I then watched a clip on dairy production in New Zealand and was impressed with how well treated the animals are; even the male calves which go to slaughter soon after birth, aren't treated the way calves are in this country.

Do countries in the E.U. have different standards for the raising and slaughter of livestock that is less cruel?

I watched those tapes and I know animals are raised to be consumed by us, but it seems there could be a better way.

In this day and age aren't there painless and sureproof ways to kill them before they are butchered?

Those videos look like something out of The Jungle. T.R. must be rolling in his grave, probably the last great Republican progressive.