Animal Liberation
The PETA Animal Liberation Project is a presentation of the correlation between the suffering of humans throughout our history and the same suffering that animals are going through in present time. To see the exhibit, see the link to the right called Animal Liberation. The paired pictures are moving and the guide provided explains the circumstances.
One that caught my attention as I was considering how this pertains to articles we have read in class, was the section on branding. "Eternal Treblinka" compares slavery to the current treatment of animals. PETA's explaination was similar:
"Slaves were often branded or otherwise mutilated as punishment and to identify them as property. Enslaved blacks who tried to strike a white person were burned on the face with a metal iron. If slaves were caught trying to escape, an "R" was burned into their face to mark them as a runaway. Other slave owners would cut off portions of their slaves' ears or even carve their initials into their slaves' bodies. It was common practice to refer to these marks in advertising for the return of runaway slaves. The law in slave states offered no protection from these abuses or recognition of the suffering of the slaves, protecting the "property rights" of the slave owners. The illustration is from the book Captain Canot: Twenty Years of an African Slaver by Theodore Canot.
Today, ranchers brand cattle so that they can identify which cows belong to which ranch and deter theft. The red-hot branding iron is pressed into the flesh of the animal long enough and hard enough to burn away the hair and outer layer of skin. It can take as many as six people to restrain a cow, who may also be forced to endure castration, ear notching, and dehorning without the use of painkillers. Pigs in factory farms have pieces of their ears cut out for identification. The systems of oppression and abuse have remained the same—only the victims have changed." (http://www.peta.org/animalliberation/guide3.asp)
I know many people believe that PETA has a bad public image and many find them to be a nuisance, but they are just an organization of people who feel strongly about the rights of animals. They do not condone violent protests but, instead use their media contacts and celebrity spokespeople to get their word out. PETA knows how to go through legal and government channels to get things done and I think that is why their adversaries feel such a strong opposition. So, I'm not trying to shove this down anyone's throat, just check out the site if you want to.
One that caught my attention as I was considering how this pertains to articles we have read in class, was the section on branding. "Eternal Treblinka" compares slavery to the current treatment of animals. PETA's explaination was similar:
"Slaves were often branded or otherwise mutilated as punishment and to identify them as property. Enslaved blacks who tried to strike a white person were burned on the face with a metal iron. If slaves were caught trying to escape, an "R" was burned into their face to mark them as a runaway. Other slave owners would cut off portions of their slaves' ears or even carve their initials into their slaves' bodies. It was common practice to refer to these marks in advertising for the return of runaway slaves. The law in slave states offered no protection from these abuses or recognition of the suffering of the slaves, protecting the "property rights" of the slave owners. The illustration is from the book Captain Canot: Twenty Years of an African Slaver by Theodore Canot.
Today, ranchers brand cattle so that they can identify which cows belong to which ranch and deter theft. The red-hot branding iron is pressed into the flesh of the animal long enough and hard enough to burn away the hair and outer layer of skin. It can take as many as six people to restrain a cow, who may also be forced to endure castration, ear notching, and dehorning without the use of painkillers. Pigs in factory farms have pieces of their ears cut out for identification. The systems of oppression and abuse have remained the same—only the victims have changed." (http://www.peta.org/animalliberation/guide3.asp)
I know many people believe that PETA has a bad public image and many find them to be a nuisance, but they are just an organization of people who feel strongly about the rights of animals. They do not condone violent protests but, instead use their media contacts and celebrity spokespeople to get their word out. PETA knows how to go through legal and government channels to get things done and I think that is why their adversaries feel such a strong opposition. So, I'm not trying to shove this down anyone's throat, just check out the site if you want to.
posted by Allison at 4:25 PM
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