There are people who live with animals like hamsters, fish or rabbits. They have them in their houses as company or decoration. In many cases these animals find themselves in a dire situation. But even when this is not the case, and they are in an environment where they can see their needs met, there is something that people rarely think about: in the previous life that these animals had before being acquired, since they are sold and bought as stuff. Thus, a dark line is drawn between their arrival at the house where they live and their immediately recent past.
Perhaps some people wonder where the animals they have bought come from, but end up giving up digging into the truth, for fear of finding that the animal that is now part of their family had a very dark past. It is not pleasant to know the reality of animal exploitation, because we do not want to feel complicit in it.
Thus, when sometimes, unfortunately, that animal that someone has bought dies after a few days, the person with whom he lived is surprised, and the question arises. What will have happened, if I have given him the water and food he needs? They don’t think it’s because of what those animals have been through before they were sold.
Where do animals raised to be sold as pets really come from?
Actually, if we shine a light behind that dark line, what we will see is not that animal living a happy life, and being cared for with love. The reality of the past of these animals is very different. These animals are, like many others used for other purposes, raised on factory farms where they are exploited in the most terrible ways. This should not surprise us. It is just one more consequence of animals being considered objects, which is what happens when they are bought and sold as if they were things, instead of beings. sentient.
Those of us who defend animals already know in considerable detail the situation of animals exploited for consumption as food or for fur production. We have recently been able to learn more about the situation of other types of animals: those used for sale as “companion animals”. A few weeks ago we heard the news that an industrial animal farm for this purpose located in Galicia closed its business. Hundreds of thousands of gerbils, hamsters, rabbits and invertebrates were raised on this farm, not only for company but also to be used as food for other animals. The following video presents some of the situations experienced in said establishment:
Thanks to images like these, we now have the opportunity to learn a little about the lives of the animals raised on these farms. It would be a serious mistake to think that the images shown in this video constitute an isolated case. As in the case of animals exploited for other purposes, there are certain patterns and certain common practices in the industry dedicated to their breeding and sale. We have seen it over and over again. Whenever we have access to the interior of an animal farm, be it small, large, or mega-farm, we are met with equally gruesome images that all have a terrifying air of familiarity. Dead animals living with their living companions. Animals with untreated wounds, living in their own droppings. Animals dying to death in the corridors of the farm… Places where the only experiences are pain, stress and fear.
These are not isolated cases of negligent treatment of animals. It is simply not possible to satisfy our personal desires for company or to consume products such as meat, milk or eggs (to name just a few examples) without causing enormous damage to animals.
You can save some of these animals
For days now, the animals on this farm have been removed from it and taken to safe places. But many are still inside, waiting for adopters who want to radically change their lives. The rest of the animals that do not get adopted will be killed.
I have personally welcomed 11 of these animals, who will live with me until we find them a new family. If you want to help them too, you can write to the Vacaloura Sanctuary, which is managing the rescue of these animals, at this email address: [email protected]. With this you will not prevent the exploitation of animals for their use as companions. To achieve this, it is necessary to continue creating awareness for the consideration of all sentient beings, to move towards the end of the breeding and sale of animals as resources or things. But by adopting you can at least save the lives of those you foster.
All sentient beings matter, even the smallest animals
When, as in a case like this, information about the situation of the animals comes to light, our responsibility is not to look aside. We must be aware of the reality of animals, to act accordingly. Often, however, we close our eyes to this reality because we put our interests before theirs. This attitude towards animals is a form of speciesism, that is, a discrimination of those who do not belong to a certain species. Many people have already heard of this type of discrimination. But we do not always reflect to what extent we are speciesists.
For example, it is very common for certain animals to be discriminated against compared to others. Few people care about animals like rabbits or mice because they are small. Also no attention is paid to aquatic animals such as fish. And the lack of interest in the invertebrates such as crustaceans and insects (which are killed in astronomical quantities for consumption, something that is expected to increase in the future).
However, all sentient animals, even small animals like the ones you can see in this video, can suffer. They are no different in that respect than other larger animals (such as cows, dogs, humans, etc.). Causing them suffering and harming them in any other way is unjustifiable.
The industrial farming of animals, whether for the purpose of eating them, obtaining their skins or using them for ornamental purposes or as a companion, is essentially the same as what we can see in the images shown in this article. It is our responsibility with the animals that are suffering from this reality now, and above all with those that will exist in the future (which will be many more) begin to change this, stopping using animals as things and moving on to question speciesism.
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