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Who takes moral high ground? [Grimsby Telegraph (UK)](Grimsby Telegraph (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) I FOUND myself shouting at the telly this week. No, I wasn''''t watching Benefits Street, I'd seen a news clip of the annual slaughter of dolphins in Taiji Cove in Japan. Witnessing those highly intelligent and beautiful mammals thrashing about in terror made me feel sick to the stomach. Of course, the Japanese have form. They also aim to hunt and kill around 1,000 whales a year for "scientific purposes". Should my indignation lead to a refusal to buy anything Japanese in protest, I mused? But how would the Japanese react to my moral stance? Would they point out that people in this country still hunt foxes and course hares, not for food, but for "sport". What is more distressing then seeing these creatures chased and ripped to pieces by dogs? Ah yes, it goes on but it's illegal, I could counter. But then my argument becomes a little transparent when I consider that we wipe out badgers to protect cattle so that they can grow big enough to be butchered. Comment on this story at www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk And we put bullets in the heads of deer just to allow trees to grow, calling it "management". We don't eat horses do we? No, we ship them off to be "processed" on the continent - and then unwittingly consume returning horsemeat. Our lambs aren't lambs for long before meeting their executioners and our pigs and cattle are snuffed out on an industrial scale. They're all mammals, just like the dolphins. We can't blame the farming and meat industries, they're just satisfying our carnivorous demands. The difference is that the slaughter of the creatures we subjugate and exploit is usually done behind closed doors. How would we react if they were all kettled, killed and butchered in public view like the dolphins? In horror, with many more people becoming vegetarians, no doubt. (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |