Allyson Manet

Exploring Animal Rights

Finding a shade of grey Even in his heavy, waterproof Mickey boots, he walks through the woods without making a sound. The forest floor is covered in orange-brown leaves; the wind breezes through the bare-armed trees just as the sun begins to rise over the crest of the hill. He makes it to the tree just as dawn breaks, pulling himself into position and warming his hands by silently rubbing them together before unsetting the safety on his 12-gauge. He waits. He listens. He hears the crisp and unmistakable sound of a twig breaking 150 feet away at his 3 oclock. His eyes search through the tangle of branches and sees it more than 200 pounds with 13-points crowning his head. He aims. The male whitetails head pops up, one ear flicking in the hunters direction. His muscles twitch and in an instant, hes out of sight save for a flash of white as his namesake tail marks his exit through the thick of the trees. So he waits. He listens. He hopes he doesnt leave empty-handed, fingers pointlessly frozen and heart sunk on the last day of the season. *** While researching animal rights, Ive been doing a lot of soul searching as to where I stand in my own beliefs. A lot of what Ive found has been tied to exposing the evils of commercial agribusiness much of which comes from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and similar organizations. The photos have been disturbing. The videos, heartbreaking. And yet, Im still not a vegetarian. Maybe its because Im not fully convinced that a vegetarian diet provides all of the essential nutrition to live a healthy life. Or maybe its because I was raised in the home where the story above wasnt unusual it was every Saturday and Sunday, October through December.

In either case, Im not quite ready to eliminate any and all animal proteins in my diet. Instead, I have to find a balance between what Ive learned, what I feel is wrong and the world Ive been raised in. A world without grey But PETA would argue there is no balance. That you cant be an animal lover if you eat meat. That sentient beings all deserve the same rights as humans, and as such have the right to not be used as food. This, I have a hard time with. Not necessarily the theory, as I can see the logic and appreciate their efforts to right the wrongs in the commercial farming industry. Its that to me, there is no world where black and white decisions exist. Plus, as an outsider, I find it hard to completely break away from everything Im familiar with. Plus, in the case of PETA, I may see value in what theyre professing, but Ive got one heck of a problem with the tactics of the prophet. PETA goes to extremes to expose animal cruelty, often doing so at the expense of humans or their situations, even going so low in their commercials as to make light of domestic violence in relationships. Its never OK to use domestic violence as a joke. Its also never OK to make threats, but PETA although their website asks for supporters to make polite calls seems to inspire action through hurtful words. And Im not the only person who thinks this way. When I started this series, I posed questions about animal rights to my social networks. One of the responses, from a friend Ive known for 24 years, shows the vile extremes PETA activists will go to do make a point. In her own words: My view on animal rights can be hard to explain. I love animals, especially dogs, but I grew up with a father who is an avid hunter. I am not a vegetarian. I do not believe that eating meat or hunting is wrong. When you grow up around farmers and hunters, you realize the necessity of these trades. Hunters help keep some animals from becoming overpopulated and overran with disease. Farming is a vital way of life for many people. Yes, they raise these animals to be slaughtered, but we are taught that these animals are for this purpose and that's just how it is. For those unfamiliar with this way of life, this may seem cruel and unnecessary. This isn't to say that I am not for animal rights, because to an extent, I am. I don't believe in the unnecessary torture of animals. As far as groups like PETA go, I believe that they can be too extreme and I know from personal experience.

I was working at the Ohio County courthouse when PETA found out about an event called Snapper Fest at a local, private campground. Apparently, Snapper Fest allows people to race while carrying snapping turtles. At the end, the contestant has to get the head of the snapping turtle out of the shell. The head is not pulled off, just brought out of hiding. When PETA heard about this event, they challenged their members to put a stop to it. For one week, we had people calling our courthouse and city hall cussing us out, calling us names, and giving death threats. Some callers believed that the people in Ohio County should die a slow death of cancer. Yes, that is the exact words. They said that the even that happened at the Indianapolis State fair with the stage collapse was God's way of punishing Indiana and Ohio County. They believed that Indiana, especially Ohio County, deserved natural disasters and horrible, painful deaths. In addition to the death threats, the people of Ohio County were also called inbred, fat, and rednecks. Now, most people in Ohio County have never been to Snapper Fest and did not even know what it was, but PETA was attacking us all. How do they justify wishing death on people to keep a snapping turtle out of a race? It does not make sense to me. As much as I love animals, I care about people more. PETA gets so caught up in their effort to save the animals that they are willing to treat innocent humans awful. According to their website, PETA believes that provocative and controversial campaigns make the difference between allowing important yet depressing subjects to remain invisible and exposing them to the public. I can understand the use of shocking language in advertisements. I can see humor in a lot of situations, but the use of threats strictly to attempt to fix a problem you dont even wholly understand? Unacceptable. Return to Nature Not ineffective, however. If nothing else, theyve garnered a lot of media publicity and even caused Business Insider make a list of their 15 most offensive ads. Even Im writing about them, again drawing more attention to their tactics. And while the use of shock in advertising isnt new, its effectiveness is debatable. Because youre likely to offend and alienate people with these tactics, I believe its

best to avoid them and instead, offer midpoint solutions for people who are just looking for ways to be better not perfect. In fact, what deserves more attention than the shock tactics of one organization is the power of what can be done for animal rights when you focus on the ecological ideas of how man and animal (and earth, for that matter) interact. Ecology is the study of environmental systems, focused on the way various systems within nature interact. Its based around all humans, plants and animals being categorized as organisms, and therefore falling in the same place on the hierarchy of the universe. Similar to the ideas behind animal rights, then, ecologists might argue that animals should be given the same rights as humans in nearly every way. This focus on the study of natural things makes me wonder wouldnt we all be better off if we just got back to nature?

Levels of organization of Ecology. (Credit: Erle Ellis) via eoearth.org

In the end, I think thats the whole point. Vegetarian, vegan or omnivore, science is starting to show that simply taking a more natural approach to the foods we eat can affect our health. There are tons of diet trends out there right now such as the Paleo diet that focus on bringing us back to whats natural and normal according to history. History also dictates that animals are a part of the food chain. Attempting to treat animals the way they would be treated without our influence is key to animal rights. While I believe hunting is that concept in its purest form, some

people are doing their part to make commercial farming more ethical, humane, and respectful of animals rights. One such example is Chipotle, a fast-growing purveyor of tasty burritos that lives by the motto of Food with Integrity. What does that mean exactly? From their website: The best way to treat animals with dignity and respect is to allow them to display their natural tendencies. When sourcing meat, we work hard to find farmers and ranchers who are doing things the right way. It means theyre finding a balance. Theyre finding their spot within the grey and theyre doing something about it without using shock tactics. Theyre motivating people to act differently and to think differently about their food. Theyre getting back to nature. This video launched during the Superbowl and shows very vividly what theyre trying to do.

Click image to watch video. Courtesy of chipotle.com.

Its not often youll hear me tout the philosophies of a company and even rarer that it would be a fast food company but in my own search for a grey area Ive found Chipotle to be an excellent example of balancing my love for animals for my own love of food.

Pivot Point One thing is for certain. PETA has done some great work exposing the commercial agriculture trade as guilty of a lot of animal cruelty. Theyve taught us all to think a little differently about the food we eat and where it comes from. However, I disagree that eating animals in any way is wrong. Hunting, in my opinion, is humane. Obviously, I know some hunters do it for the thrill of the hunt. But the vast majority hunt to put food on their tables and to feel the sense of being that comes with being that close to nature. Wild animals are not raised strictly for human consumption, nor are they necessarily destined to become food. Hunters learn an ancient craft, tying themselves back into nature and respecting the animals they seek for their intelligence, or grace, or prowess. Now, some major farms are taking the same steps, bringing their practices closer to nature and closer to what the world needs. Its just up to you to do the research. I know that not everyone will take up hunting after reading this article, but I hope some of you will begin to see that animal rights does not necessarily mean being vegan. There are ways you can make small changes to bring yourself toward a healthy, happy shade of grey. So, whats your small step toward change? With so many options for health conscious, meat free meals, will you try cutting meat out one or two nights per week? Will you take more responsibility for where your food comes from? Will you check websites like LocalHarvest.org to find butcher shops and free range farmers in your area? This is your pivotal moment. Be responsible. Be respectful. The ecosystem depends on it.

Exploring Animal Rights has been a three-part series featured in Pivotal Point discussing the ins and outs of animal rights. Look for more information in parts one and two, where we first introduce the idea of animal rights (part one) and how the food choices we make influence the fight for animal rights (part two).