Mercy for Animals has exposed yet another case of extreme brutality, this time at Christensen Farms in Hanska, Minnesota. Christensen is a pork supplier for Walmart. Bob (The Price is Right) Barker narrates the powerful Mercy For Animals video exposing the horrific conditions inside the Hanska facility. WARNING: THE VIDEO IS VERY GRAPHIC AND DIFFICULT TO WATCH.
Despite a recent post in which I said these types of violent videos leave me shaken and upset, I still watch them because I think it's crucial for animal rights advocates to know what we're up against.
And believe me, friends, this is as awful as it gets.
Not surprisingly, the Pork Racket is circling the wagons around this execrable horror show of savagery and abuse. David Preisler of the Minnesota Pork Producers Association (MPAA) insisted that Christensen is a humane producer, that it treats its pigs well, that it provides "quality pig care." To quote Preisler:
"Christensen Farms has a long history of commitment to high-quality animal care and the adoption of animal husbandry practices that enhance pig well-being." (Source)Reading Preisler's comments, I can't help but remember the words of the immortal Chico Marx: "Who are you going to believe? Me or your own eyes?"
If one believes the Mercy for Animals video posted above is authentic, which I do, then the Pork Bosses had better go back and consult with a dictionary about the definition of "humane," "quality" and "standards."
How many more exposures like this one is it going to take? How many more pigs have to be live their short lives in pain and misery, only to be murdered and consumed by human beings?
Defenders of this sort of violence like to say that the abuses in the Mercy for Animals video represent a "worst-case scenario," and not all pork producers are so brutal and uncaring and violent.
The end result in all of these factories of death, whether they practice "humane" methods or not, is mass murder. We need to spread the message that pigs are not our property. They are not our meat. They are not our ham, our pork, our bacon. They are individual beings, who have as much right to live their lives as we do. Murdering them is a crime as heinous as killing a human being, whether that murder occurs in a place that embraces "humane" treatment or an outfit like Christensen, that is clearly engaging in the worst forms of abuse imaginable before stealing the life away from these poor beings.
