Sunday, August 12, 2007

The envelope please...

So do you think you have them right? Are they correct?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These animals generally live five to eleven years depending on the breed. These are gregarious animals and live together in small groups. They have a communal approach to the child bearing and raising of young. Individuals in the group will dominate others, establishing a hierarchy. The dominant individuals having priority for access to food and other resources. Removing individuals from the group causes temporary disruption to this social order. This species makes a good companion animal but can become territorial and violent.

Chickens. That's right, the above describes chickens. Both the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Wikipedia gave similar definitions. Where did you think the phrase "pecking order" came from?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These animals are omnivores, consuming both plants and small animals. In the wild, they are foraging animals, primarily eating leaves and grasses, roots, fruits and flowers. Because of their foraging abilities and excellent sense of smell, they are used to find truffles in many European countries. These animals are known to be intelligent animals and have been found to be more trainable than dogs or cats. In nature, these animals live in social groups. Individual animals who know each other engage in certain behaviors, much like humans shake hands or hug. They may greet a friend by making nose-to-nose contact or by grooming the other. It has been suggested that this animal can recognize and remember up to 30 other of it's kind. . They establish a stable social group by evaluating each other's behavior and understanding which companions are more aggressive and dominant. These animals are so communal that they even sleep together, huddled in a nest.

Pigs. Anyone who has read anything about pigs or watched any Animal Planet shows featuring these animals, should not be surprised. There are many stories of people who have pigs as pets and heartbreaking stories of then having to slaughter those animals. Again, the HSUS and Wikipedia gave similar definitions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a small carnivorous species of mammal . It has been associated with humans for at least 9,500 years. It is intelligent and can be trained to obey simple commands. Individuals have also been known to learn to manipulate simple mechanisms. These animals use a variety of vocalizations and types of body language for communication, growling, squeaking, chirping, clicking, and grunting. These are popular pets and are also bred and shown as registered pedigree pets.

Cats. I was hoping small and carnivorous in the beginning didn't give the whole secret away. Wikipedia is where I found this information.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These animals are mostly color blind and use their tail to display their moods. These animals have a sharp sense of hearing and panoramic vision. These animals communicate with each other in a number of ways. Vocalizations or "calls" can indicate excitement, frustration, interest, pleasure or stress. They may also use a call to regain contact with a companion after they've been separated; as a prime example, when newborns are removed from their mothers, the mother will call to her child for days. Odors are also important to their communication and behavior, and these animals can detect smells up to five miles away. These live in hierarchically ranked groups and begin to order themselves within the group at a young age. Physical communication and grooming help to establish this social ranking. What may appear to be a game, such as head-butting or shoving, is actually a method of determining which animals within the group are dominant.

Cow. Or more correctly, cattle or bovine. Cow's really only refer to female cattle over thirty months or that have delivered a calf. What I find the most disturbing about the above description is the following: "when newborns are removed from their mothers, the mother will call to her child for days". This happens to every single dairy cow (free range, local, or factory farmed) at least once a year. Once a year the cow is forced to give birth and the calf is taken away so that humans can consume the milk. (HSUS and Wikipedia)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Modern breeds show more variation in size, appearance, and behavior than any other domestic animal. Within the range of extremes, these animals generally share attributes with their wild ancestors. These are very social animals, but their personality and behavior vary with breed as well as how they are treated by their owners and others who come in contact with them. Physical abuse and starvation can produce very neurotic, dangerous animals, and even simply failing to socialize them properly may entail maladaptive behaviors. It is not uncommon for these animals to attack humans and other animals; however, this is usually because of lack of care or improper upbringing by its owner.

Dog. Last but not least our beloved canine companions. Again Wikipedia helped out with this description.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope that those reading this see the point in my post. And for those of you who don't, I'll help you out. Before the answers were listed, these descriptions were very similar on a lot of accounts. If this is the case, why is it okay to eat and exploit certain animals, but not others? This has begun to frustrate me more and more since the Michael Vick case has come forward. Yes, it's appalling. Yes, I am outraged. Yes, I hope the courts make an example out of him. But I am also appalled by factory farming. I am outraged by dairy production.

Although the topic saddens me, I do hope that I have given you something to think about.

1 comment:

KleoPatra said...

Thanks for this. More good fodder to ponder.