Fido, Fluffy, or Furless. What's the difference?

Imagine, if you will, that your beloved Fido or Fluffy is locked in a cage so small she or he can't easily stretch a single leg. This sensitive animal will suffer painful mutilations without the reprieve of any painkillers or anesthesia. For up to two years, he or she will "live" and possibly die in this cage. At the end of this period, Fido and Fluffy's only repayment is a premature and cruel death.

If such abuse were forced upon billions of dogs and cats each year, the outcry would be enormous. The truth is, the scenario described above is very much the hell endured by 300 million egg-laying hens in the United States,each as capable of feeling pain as our much-loved cats and dogs. Indeed, egg-laying hens trapped in "battery cages" on modern factory farms are so intensively confined they cannot even flap their wings. Many may also be starved for up to two weeks, in order to jolt their battered bodies into yet another laying cycle. As chicks, the tips of their sensitive beaks are seared off with a hot metal blade. For the rest of their short lives, the birds never feel the earth under their feet or breathe fresh air. Not one can roost, nest, perch, forage, let alone walk more than a few steps.

If tremendous suffering were unique only to the egg industry, it would be outrageous enough. But, unfortunately, the animals who produce our meat and dairy products are also abused by industries that put their drive for dollars over the well-being of other living beings. The example of "food" chickens comes to mind. Although these birds are not crammed into wire cages, they never step foot out of the huge, dim, sheds they inhabit. To maximize profit, the birds are bred to grow abnormally heavy, the equivalent of a two-year-old weighing 349 pounds, according to the University of Arkansas researchers! Obviously, this unnatural bulk strains the birds' bodies, making it difficult for them to walk, yet easy to break bones or suffer from crippling leg disorders. The abuses they suffer are virtually endless, and their final hours aren't any better with cruel catching, stressful transport, and, finally, a gruesome death.

It may seem more likely that animals slaughtered for food would be treated abusively since, obviously, they lose their lives. But wouldn't cows used solely for milk production be treated less inumanely? The answer is an unfortunate no. A calf born into the dairy industry is separated from his or her mother within a day or two of birth, a painful event for both. If male, the calf will be sold to the beef or veal industries. If female, she will join her mother on the dairy line where she will endure an almost constant cycle of pregnancy and birth. Milked by machines, she may develop mastitis, a painful infection. After her milk production wanes (typically by age five) and she is deemed useless to the dairy industry, she will be slaughtered and her body will be ground for hamburger.

Perhaps upon reading of these atrocities you will have a similar reaction to that of countless others and sorrow, but wonder what one person can do to help these animals. First, remove your financial support for the murderous industries by nixing meat, milk, and eggs. If you need help in making the transition, order a free Vegetarian Starter Guide from TryVeg.com. The next best thing you can do is get active. Educate others about the horrors of factory farming, write letters to the editor, distribute brochures. The possibilities are endless. As Edmund Burke said,"Nobody made a bigger mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little".