AR Activists Fight For People Too

I often hear “Why are you so worried about animals? What about the human rights issues?” Being a vegan and animal-rights advocate and humanitarian are not mutually exclusive. One feeds into the other in multiple ways.

When I rail against the treatment of agricultural animals at factory farms and slaughterhouses, one thing seems to get swept under the rug: who is committing these atrocious behaviours? We are presented with these clandestine videos of horrific abuse perpetrated on these innocents, and we heave a collective cry of “Animal Abuse” and that is what we tend to focus on: the action of the abuse and the suffering of the non-human animal on the receiving end.

What about the person behind the steel-toed boots and heavy work gloves? Who is he/she? (I will continue on with this article using the pronoun “he” for simplicity’s sake) Why would anyone take a job like this? Are they really ok with this behaviour? Do they behave this way with their own pets or children? WHAT THE FUCK?

I was perusing Twitter this morning and saw a post by @agargmd stating the animal agriculture business is not a friend of minorities and migrant workers and the American diet supports the industries and politicians who continue to oppress these peoples.

BING! I had an Oprah Lightbulb Moment that flashed like stick lightning striking ground.

Of course! An industry of oppression uses the oppressed to fuel it.

The Guardian states: “Most farm work in America is performed by immigrants, most of whom are undocumented and therefore exploitable. The big agribusinesses that hire these immigrants will tell you that they need an unfettered supply of cheap foreign labor, because they cannot find Americans willing to do these jobs.”

Another quote: “According to a report compiled by Eric Ruark (pdf), the director of research at the Federation for American Immigration Reform (Fair), as of 2006, only 27% of workers hired by agribusinesses are American citizens, 21% are green card holders, around 1% are part of the guest worker program … and a whopping 51% are unauthorized immigrants.”

50 PER CENT are unauthorized immigrants! Holy fuck!

In Canada, upwards of 25,000 migrant workers are brought in legally to do work farmers need which citizens apparently won’t do; the exact number of undocumented migrants was estimated in 2004 as more than 36,000, doing a variety of jobs such as cleaning, nannying, labour and farm labour.

Ok so there is no shortage of illegals to hire for these less-than-desirable jobs in the agricultural industry. These people face working conditions which just barely meet industry standards in most cases, risking life and limb daily. In 2004 Tyson received a citation for an employee who inhaled hydrogen sulfide and was asphyxiated – did I read that right? A CITATION? For a death?

Between 2003-5, Maple Leaf Farms was issued 18 violations and fines for unsafe practices including hazardous machines and chemicals, and a number of other unsafe procedures.

Child labour is a thing too. 57 Guatemalen under-age workers were found at a kosher meatpacking plant in Iowa. What the ACTUAL fuck?

Clearly, this industry is death for everyone: humans and non-humans alike.

These migrant families work in this industry because even an unregulated salary is better than no salary at all. The farmers not only have these people by the pursestrings but also by the heartstrings, as they are working towards a better life for their family than they had in their home country. Unable to legally enter the country for various reasons, they resorted to illegal channels and are forced to take whatever job is available no matter how abhorrent and with no safety net of lawful protocol with which to protect themselves.

So here is one way Animal Rights meets Human Rights.

By policing these industries and advocating for animals, we are also assisting humans caught in this cycle of oppression and suppression. We are educating the public at large not only of the great inhumane treatment of innocent non-human animals, but also the inhumane treatment of men, women and children caught up in this life or death system which functions right under our noses, in our neighbourhoods, down our streets, in our backyards.

Yeah, right there.

And we are blind to it, because we prefer to look away from nastiness and pretend it isn’t happening. Because we see our “food” (read animal flesh) packaged up nice and cleanly in open freezers with little fake parsley garland at the edges and Enya playing on the overhead speakers. Get those rose-coloured glasses off, peeps, there is as much inhumanity being perpetrated in our own country as in those we castigate as barbaric and condemn to outer reaches of civilization.

We are animals too; Animal Rights includes us all.

 

 

 

 

Not Everyone Loves Marineland

This weekend marks a full year since I attended my very first animal rights protest. It was at the same place, Marineland Canada, in Niagara Falls.

I grew up in Niagara, so I am very familiar with Marineland. Our family attended way back when it was first opened and was called Marineland and Game Farm, and it was puny and didn’t have much oomphf. I recall even back then it seemed dirty to me, and chaotic, and I felt sorry for the animals. I was very young.

I attended the park a few times over the years with school trips, or visiting family; as I grew, so did the park. It expanded, added more rides, and acquired more animals including Orcas, seals, walruses, and dolphins. By this time I was older, more cognizant of my surroundings, but it still seemed dirty and chaotic and something else too: sad.

The animals were all sad. All. Of. Them. They had a sense of desperation about them when you viewed them, clamoring for more treats, knocking into you and each other in a frenzied attempt for attention and there was this little voice in my head that said “this is not normal.”

Nemo and Neptune NOT in their natural habitat

The marine mammals were just as sad. They put on a great show, with lots of leaping about and splashing, but something wasn’t right about it. It was an act. The seals cut through the water with speed, sleek and shiny; the dolphins danced on the pool waves, laughing in their merry way; the orcas intimidated us with their sheer size and razor sharp teeth. Everything seemed super fun and exciting. But it was fake.

I know now, and I knew it then, they were literally putting on the best act of their lives. Their very existence depended on it. And that’s all they could do, instinctively, every single day: exist. Because that’s all they knew how to do in this plexiglass environment with chlorinated water and invisible borders.

Someone took away their choice.

If they are hungry, they must wait until the almighty god of this organization deems it dinner time. There is no thrill of the hunt and chase for these animals, which is a part of their natural lives when they are in the wild. Food is just plopped in at a certain time, and they eat because not to is to die, and they still have a will to live.

Killer Whales NOT at Marineland or Seaworld. This is where they should be.

If they want to swim deep, surface, and cavort, as they would in the ocean, for miles and miles, with different scenery, they can’t. Their world is a round pool, with limited expanse and depth, infused with chemicals which are not natural to their normal eco-system.

Those mammals which are amphibious, like seals and walruses, are kept in cages when not in the pool. Cages with metal bars and concrete floors. Sound familiar? Yes, the same environment in which we keep the dregs of society who have been judged unworthy of freedom in a court of law and are being punished: jails. These animals were wild caught, they know what an alternate natural life is, and this is where they now live.

Photo credit: Hamilton Spectator. Walrus at Marineland Canada

And you know, I look back and I think we know so much more now about wildlife. I mean, back then, I could see how zoos and marine farms were a valuable educational tool and exciting entertainment. It reminds me of the Freak Shows of yore – no longer politically correct – but back then it was something different the “normies” could oogle. In the case of Marineland, the average person did not get a chance to see these unusual animals in real life; learning about them was hazardous in the wild; it was much easier to capture them, utilize them for viewing and entertainment to offset the cost of procuring them, and then study them as well. A twofer.

But we are better now. The technology we now have and world travel allows us to see and study these animals in their natural habitat, and the internet allows us to disseminate this information – in full colour! We don’t need to have these magnificent creatures caged and jailed anymore. But companies like Marineland and SeaWorld are still wild-capturing them and “training” them and putting them on display, forcing them to do tricks for food, keeping them enslaved by their dependency on us in this environment, taking away their free will and their health all for OUR ENTERTAINMENT.

It’s got to stop!

People don’t seem to realize that when humans dominate and subjugate wild creatures for their own ends, it’s showing a disrespect for life. And if humans can disrespect a life in this way, it’s only a hop, skip and a jump before other levels of life are oppressed and that oppression justified – like free speech or body autonomy. Humans are masters at objectifying things to benefit themselves, and sadly we also seem to have this desire to conquer anything we consider to be lesser than ourselves.

At some point we have to stop and consider all other life forms on this earth as equal to ourselves, in their own right. We are not better than the lowly bee; in fact we now know bees are fundamental to our existence. So why should we feel we are better than the mighty Orca and keep them imprisoned and indentured in small pools being stared at by flat pink faces smushed against the glass? Why do we feel it’s ok to keep bears in a cement pit with a few concrete caves and trickle of filthy water and throw marshmallows and peanuts at them so we can laugh at them trying to eat the sticky substance like little gods perched on our holier-than-thou thrones? Why do we feel we have the right to decide what a woman can do with her body if she gets impregnated and doesn’t want it? Oh wait – that’s another debate … BUT IS IT? Is it really?

So when I went to the Marineland Opening Day Demonstration, I was protesting not just against the enslaving of wild marine mammals and land animals, I was protesting our tyranny against all creatures, including US! I was protesting against segregation; I was protesting against discrimination; I was protesting against the “heartbeat bill”; I was protesting against nukes; I was protesting against wars; I was protesting against the ban on refugees; I was protesting against all the evil treatment humans perpetrate on all animals on this earth.

I was demonstrating FOR a new way of living where all creatures are embraced as equal and respected as life; where an individual has the right to choose it’s own path without fear of reprisals from others or government;  where no one has to live in fear of being bullied or dominated in the name of righteousness.

I was demonstrating FOR ALL OF US!

Changing Lives – Especially Mine!

Last weekend, (May 19, 2018) I had the adventure of my life. I participated in the opening day demonstration against Marineland Canada, and I had an epiphany.

Marineland Canada is an aquarium-based theme park which includes orca shows, dolphins, seals, walruses and various land animals, such as bears, deer etc with some crazy rides thrown in to break the monotony of walking a curvy tarmac path between small, unadorned cages of sadly confined wild animals.

Although the pool is one of the largest for sea mammals, it is very small when compared to the vast waters of an orca’s natural home: the ocean.

Marineland Canada has one of the worst reputations in regards to animal mortality rates, living conditions, and treatment, with Seaworld even taking legal action against them after lending them an orca for breeding purposes which came back in ill health.

As a child, my family often took visiting relatives there as part of the sightseeing program, so I am no stranger to it. I visited it when it was very small and basically had a few sea mammals and some deer, to after they had grown as a theme park, housing numerous species of land animal and birds, to the ocean animals: orcas, dolphins, beluga whales, sea lions, and walruses. I haven’t been there for more than 30 years now, and I stopped referring visiting relatives there for just as long.

I hate Marineland.

I spent the day holding a sign, trying to educate the public about the plight of the ocean-dwelling animals housed in small spaces therein. As I did this and chatted with the like-minded protesters surrounding me, I found myself realizing our animals really don’t have a say in their own lives in this world of ours. They come into this world completely dependent on our whim, and often go out the same way.

Whether in the wild or domestic, they have zero control on where they live, what they eat, whether they get medical care when they are sick, whether they have babies or not, whether the home in which they start off is where they stay forever … or not.

They can’t complain when something is not right; they can’t write letters to the editor or the Prime Minister. They can’t save their money and move elsewhere if things are not to their liking. There isn’t a human resources department for them to lodge a complaint, or a union to stand up for them.

They can’t petition, rally their friends and like minds and demonstrate against indecencies perpetrated against them while protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, like us. They have to trust the humans in their lives will do the right things by them, and they love them whether that is the case or not.

How do their needs get met then? How is change effected for those who can’t speak?

Us.

It is our responsibility to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves. We, as humans, have the virtue of compassion. It’s unique to us, and to us alone.

I hate the fact that these large, beautiful marine creatures are kept confined to what amounts to a fishbowl; I hate the fact walruses, which are typically social animals, are kept alone in cages when not in training; I hate the fact that the bears live in squalor in a cement pit with people tossing marshmallows or garbage in to see their reactions. I hated it as a child, and I hate it now even more.

The original whistleblower, Phil Demers, a one-time trainer and employee of the park, spearheaded the movement and has provided myriad documentation to the deplorable conditions of the animals, as have others.

I learned, this last weekend, that giving voice to our animals is a wonderful thing. All animals, including our domestic pets, depend on us to make the right choices for them, to allow them to fulfill their lives in healthy, compassionate, and happy environments.

Whether its a wild animal being kept in deplorable conditions in captivity, the domestic ‘food’ animals mercilessly abused and eventually killed, or disenfranchised pets who have been dumped, the job of helping these creatures and educating our fellow humans is no small feat. Many don’t want to listen, and many simply do not hear. And that is a very sad thing indeed, because surely in this world of plenty, in this world of education, humanity and political correctness, these lives can’t be overlooked.

On this day of protest, I was doing something which could make a difference to the plight of these wild animals held captive. Maybe our actions will contribute to educating the public about respect for nature and all living creatures – even if it just starts here. As humans, the supposed intelligent species, we have a responsibility to care for our world and all the creatures in it as humanely as possible. (if we don’t, then the meaning of the word ‘humane’ needs to change in the dictionary!)

I know some people believe we have a right to use this world as we see fit to further our needs. That these things were made available to us by ‘God’ or some omnipotent being for our use. I call bullshit!

Whatever your religious affiliation (and I could care less) we are one of many species inhabiting this planet with no more rights than any other, and far more responsibility to behave appropriately to the betterment of our world and all that resides in it.

And I was proud to say I acted on that this weekend, and will continue to act on it in future. I was part of something huge, magnificent, and positive, and I still feel the impact of those energies three days later! I ditched one destructive part of my life and embraced a life-affirming, constructive and powerful element which will benefit not just me but animals all over and maybe even the world at large.

That’s pretty momentous. yay me!

But more importantly – yay them!

Marineland Protest (L to R) Me, Joanne Scott, Bob Scott, Rebecca Reaume, Phil Demers, Jeff Reaume.