People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently released an appalling video of lambs being skinned alive by an Ovis 21 network farm in Argentina. I will spare the reader those images here, as once seen they will be never forgotten. The gruesome material can be seen on the PETA website. Suffice it to say, the picture of one little terrified lamb being butchered alive is an atrocity I will never be able to erase from my consciousness. Having seen it, I can't ignore it.
PETA deserves great credit for outing these perverse animal abusers and giving a voice to those innocent lambs who have been so wantonly slaughtered for profit. As a result of PETA's video and public outcry, two of Ovis 21 wool customers and apparel makers have stopped doing business with them -- Stella McCartney and outdoor clothing line Patagonia.
On August 15, 2015, Ovis 21 released the following tepid statement:
Ovis 21 certifies grassland regeneration, flock improvement and wool quality in a network of farms.
With regards to the video footage taken in december 2014 in one of the farms in the Ovis 21 network, the images depicting inhumane treatment of lambs and sheep are unacceptable. Ovis 21 does not justify cruelty. We have identified and intervened the property involved, which is now no longer a certified property. We regret not being informed when the footage was taken, to take immediate action.
Farming practices have a relevant role as a tool to improve biodiversity and ecosystem function, to produce food and fiber for an increasing world population and to generate the best environment for wildlife, rural families and their communities.
Their network farmer skins lambs alive, and the strongest condemnation they can offer is to say it is "unacceptable" and that "Otis 21 does not justify cruelty"? Where is their outrage at these atrocities and crimes against nature? Instead of "unacceptable," they should say it's "revolting," "vile," "disgusting," "shocking," "ghastly," "sickening," "evil," "depraved," "repulsive," and/or "immoral." In place of stating that "Otis 21 does not justify cruelty," they should boldly pronounce, "We condemn these atrocities," or "We are ashamed that any of our members would engage in such perverse conduct."
Yesterday I received two catalogs in the mail from major retailers proudly offering lambskin rugs "Made in Argentina." I didn't realize living things were manufactured goods. I thought they were created by God and nature, not by humans.
As long as we treat animals as if they were decorative and disposable products, these types of shameful abuses will continue. If you want to know who is to blame, we only need to look in the mirror. If people would simply not buy these items, those profiteering from them would be hit where it hurts them the most -- in the wallet. Stop buying and they will stop selling.
Human progress is a slow and tedious process. Abolitionists were well ahead of their time, but slavery wasn't abolished until 1865. The Women's Suffrage Movement didn't get them the right to vote until 1920. Social media and our collective conscientiousness can be powerful tools for change and expediting movements. Today there is equal protection in marriage and Confederate flags are being moved from state capitals to museums. I am confident that future generations will look back on the way we treated animals as barbaric. Let's not wait for them to do so.
"If a man aspires towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals."
-- Albert Einstein