Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick pleaded guilty in federal court on Friday to crimes related to a dog fighting ring. While investigators are likely more concerned about the gambling and racketeering aspects of the operation, many Americans are rightfully outraged by the harm inflicted on the animals themselves.
The acts outlined in Vick's July indictment are reprehensible. But many of those howling over animal mistreatment readily accept the wanton acts of cruelty inherent in some methods of food production, exposing a hypocrisy that demands self-examination and contemplation.
On July 19, U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd spoke on the floor of the Senate to denounce dog fighting as "a brutal, sadistic event motivated by barbarism and cruelty."
Vick is linked to the execution of poorly performing pit bulls he and his associates bred for fighting. The indictment provides ample details about the methods used to kill those animals, and only the heartless could be unmoved by the sadism they represent.
The charges prompted vehement outrage. Animal lovers have been particularly vocal, though one need not be a PETA member to be angered over the treatment of innocent creatures. As Byrd noted, Proverbs says, "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel."
Unfortunately, many of those disgusted by these alleged actions do not reject comparable cruelty inflicted on animals by factory farms in a thirst for profits. These operations employ horrific means of production to deliver food to America's dinner tables.
Consider cattle raised for meat and dairy, which often are kept in overcrowded conditions and can be slaughtered while conscious. Pigs suffer in similar conditions.
Consider chickens, many of which are subject to the removal of their beaks while alive. Most are raised for slaughter from the day they are hatched, though they are as intelligent as dogs or cats. And consider sheep, which are kept in overcrowded conditions that promote the rapid spread of disease. Most are overfed to an unhealthy extreme and treated as a resource rather than living creatures.
Dog fighting represents a particularly heinous brand of violence against animals. But those who profit by subjecting calves to terrible conditions to make veal or by force-feeding fowl to produce foie gras should not be celebrated in the nation's finest restaurants.
Too few Americans recognize that killing animals for food can be done with care and sensitivity. Most hunters distinguish themselves for consuming their kill, utilizing the animals they fell. Smaller, cruelty-free farms sell products that respect these living creatures, and, even though they may cost a little more, they can be found in area supermarkets. And PETA may deserve ridicule for its methods, which rely on confrontation rather than persuasion, but it earns points for consistency since its members reject animal cruelty in all forms.
But so many other people think nothing of how that steak landed on their plate or the slaughtered cow from which the meat originated. The rise of factory farms has fostered a disconnect between Americans and their food sources, keeping cruelty squirreled away and confrontation at arm's length. Justice may be swift for those who harm man's best friend, but not for those who kill man's Sunday dinner without concern for that animal's suffering.
Mohandas Gandhi said, "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." It is a sentiment Byrd echoed in his speech, saying "I am confident that the hottest places in hell are reserved for the souls of sick and brutal people who hold God's creatures in such brutal and cruel contempt."
While that response to Vick's acts of cruelty might be just in Gandhi's eyes, the Mahatma did not intend for his words to be applied only to the most cute and loyal of God's creatures.
Brian Colligan is the editorial page editor of The Daily Reflector.
