Ridecamp: RE: [RC] That Hawg thing.......

"Not to start a thread on the Hog amendment mentioned by a list member..."

Uhhhh oh... I guess that means I should stop right here, huh? ...well...
Just $.02, then I'll stop.

A friend used to co-own one of the largest privately held cow/calf/pig
operations in Iowa. He was a modern cowboy, college educated, easy to like.
When I met him, he was a hard-liner vegetarian, odd because he really is a
cowboy, can ride, rope, brand, hunt and shoe.

We were riding once and he mentioned the operation. I pulled Gabby up "Wait
a minute, what is this vegetarian feed-lot operator stuff? Something's wrong
with that picture. How do YOU spell hypocrite?". I laughed, but was serious.

When the 6'3" rangy cowboy told me about the pig barn, he had a catch in his
voice. Really. "We kept pigs in chutes their whole life; they couldn't even
lay down comfortably. Hundreds of pigs in each barn" The way he talked, the
barns were rarely like in these articles... "the men carried filtration
masks and usually had to use them." They "cleaned", but with that many pigs
that tightly confined, cleaning only did so much. The air made your eyes
water.

The pigs lived on "supplements", antibiotics and god knows what most of
their lives, and they double dosed animals if they lost track. I asked "Why?
Seems like a waste of drugs." and his answer was "Hell, nothing can live
like that without them. They'd die in a week. Pneumonia."

I looked at him, this man that loved dogs, horses, birds and kids... "How
did you ever get involved in that mess?" I asked. His reply was that "it
kind of snuck up on me gradually, we didn't jump into it...it's no excuse
but it's the truth."

He continued, "One day, a friend I ranched with in Colorado came to visit. I
was needed in the barns, took him with me. While I was talking to the guys
he looked at those pigs. When I turned, slapped him on the shoulder and
smiled "Ready to go!" I noticed his eyes were watering.  I laughed and said
"Heck, the air's good now, you should be here in the winter when we have to
shut it up!" Then I noticed his expression. "Are you okay?". Know what his
reply was?"

He paused, looked me in the eye and asked "Do you ever wonder if pigs have
souls?"

"Stunned, I looked at those pigs like I was seeing them for the first time.
They were all looking at me. All of them."

<ahem..> "Linda... Damnit, I'm a Christian, but pigs have souls..."

He got out of the business soon after that. It's a true story. He'll
occasionally eat free roaming meat, it isn't the meat he objects to.

Linda Cowles
Horse 'N Hound
New, Consigned & Used Tack
9155 North State St. #13,
Redwood Valley, CA 95470
EASY  access with Hwy 101 frontage!
Store: 707-485-0347               Fax:  707-485-4053
kadence@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:kadence@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>


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