Ignorance

Open Letter to Angus Taylor, Member for Hume – New South Wales

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Dear Mr Taylor,

I am writing this letter to you out of concern over comments that you have made regarding the actions the alleged extreme animal rights group Aussie Farms, and its operations director, Mr Chris Delforce.

You have said that because Mr Delforce has the view that animal agriculture shouldn’t exist that he is un-Australian and their behavior is unacceptable.

Well Mr Taylor, just like Mr Delforce, I am also of the belief that animal agriculture doesn’t have a place in the modern Australian farming landscape.

Does this also make me un-Australian?

Mr Taylor, whilst the actions of Mr Delforce and Aussie Farms may get the approval of some within the animal advocacy movement, I personally believe that they are actually setting the movement back, and making it harder for those of us who want to have a legitimate discussion about the use of other animals. In fact, the recent piece that I wrote regarding this appeared in the same publication as your comments, some 2 days earlier.

What really concerns me about your comments Mr Taylor is that as a Federal Member of Parliament for the seat of Hume, you are supposed to the people’s representative in Canberra. Not an industry representative as you appear to be.

Mr Taylor, please understand that like Mr Delforce, I will do whatever it take to shut down animal agriculture, an industry that I believe to be archaic and out-dated.

Though unlike Mr Delforce, I will do it within the confines of the law. So please do not tar us all with the same brush.

Mr Taylor, you have said that you have worked hard to understand where the animal welfare lobby comes from, though have you taken any time to understand where the ‘animal rights’ lobby comes from?

Remember they are two totally separate groups with different views and goals.

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What ARE You?

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What Are You? - AusVegan.com.au
Image courtesy of hywards / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The recent piece that I wrote about the activities of Aussie Farms, that was picked up by the media seems to have had people making all sorts of outlandish statements, telling lies, and spreading rumours.
Whilst I am not going to give the lies and rumours credibility by responding to them, I am going to address some of the more important questions that were asked.

Are You An Animal Liberationist?

In a nutshell the answer is No.
This is because I have not performed an act that liberated other animals from captivity/oppression.
To disappoint some, being a member of the animal liberation franchise does not make you an animal liberationist either.

Are You An Animal Rights Activist?

Once again, in a nutshell the answer is no.
Whilst calling yourself an animal rights activist may be the new black, the reality is that attaching that label to yourself doesn’t actually make you an animal rights activist.
To call yourself an animal rights activist, you will need to define what animal rights you are seeking to achieve. From there, you will need to establish a process/procedure for these ‘rights’ being granted, and who /what will be put in place to ensure that these ‘rights’ are not infringed upon.

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Aussie Farms And Chris Delforce. Raising awareness or setting things back?

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Australian ‘food’ animals have a new saviour in the Aussie Farms group of websites all thanks to the new poster boy for animal ‘rights’, Mr Chris Delforce.

Whilst Mr Delforce is gleefully enjoying his 15 minutes of fame thanks to an eager media, it appears that he is paying very little attention to the damage that his comments and websites are doing to ‘the movement’.

Unfortunately, the more that Mr Delforce and his Aussie Farms website(s) appear in agricultural media, the more that animal advocates are being demonised, and the harder things will become in the future.

Confusing Position

Mr Delforce is another one of a growing number of people who have labelled themselves as ‘Animal Rights Activists’, and have paid very little thought to what that actually means. Maybe ‘animal rights’ is the new black.

In a deleted facebook discussion the question was asked on the Aussie Farms fan page how they envisioned these ‘rights’ being granted. Would it be through the granting of a type of personhood or via legislated rights, and would it apply to all animals, or only those used for food.

Their response was we’re more interested in achieving a paradigm shift (as discussed in the interview) in the way animals are viewed, so that people view them not as stock or property, but as living, sentient animals who have a desire and a right to not be abused, exploited or killed. Laws prohibiting the killing of animals can only come as a result of this.

This appears to be contradictory to the footage and images that are on the Aussie Farms website. All I have been able to find are images and footage of other animals as they are used in the animal agricultural system. There are no scientific reports of the sentience of other animals, evidence of their desire to live or anything for that matter that would lead the viewer/reader to believe that they are anything else than property.

If it is Mr Delforce and Aussie Farms’ true intent to ‘convert’ people to veganism, they appear to have gone about it the wrong way.

Gruesome footage doesn’t get people to change their minds or create a paradigm shift. If it did, then the government wouldn’t have resorted to plain paper packaging for cigarettes after the ‘shocking’ photos, and we would be seeing ‘shocking’ images on TV in an attempt to improve the road toll.

No Alternatives In Mind

Despite Mr Delforce knowing that the media would be talking to him regarding the sites, and his intentions, he never bothered to present an alternative to animal agriculture.

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Ag-Gag Laws. The Best Thing To Happen To Animal Advocacy

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What would you say if I told you that any proposed ag-gag laws that actually made it onto the books would be a good thing for the animal advocacy movement, and not something we should be scared of?

By encouraging and not resisting these so-called ag-gag laws, we will be helping the animal advocacy movement to grow, and in turn, help those who ‘we’ are supposed to be advocating for.

The Animals.

Both Sides Need To Harden Up
Is Australia a bunch of sooks now where the group that whinges the most gets the best treatment?

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Animal Liberation Queensland Gives Up On Other Animals.

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Photo Credit: Rainer Hungershausen via Flickr cc
Photo Credit: Rainer Hungershausen via Flickr cc

If you aren’t a greyhound, don’t expect much help or a campaign out of the Queensland branch of the Animal Liberation franchise.

In what has to be the worst case of dropping the ‘animal rights’ ball that this author has ever seen, Animal Liberation Queensland seems to be single-mindedly focusing on feebly attempting to stop the proposed greyhound track at Underwood in Queensland’s Logan Shire.

Despite being having the words “Animal Liberation” in their name, and having as part of their objective “To abolish man’s attitude of speciesism towards animals”, the group has forsaken all others to get a bit of publicity around greyhounds.

This single campaign to them is that important that they passed on footage, anonymously given to them, to another organisation for them to use, rather than use it themselves.

Now whilst I think it is great that they are sharing footage with other organisations outside of the franchise, I personally think it was a wasted opportunity for them to promote veganism. Something that would have benefited ALL animals.

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What Will You Actually Save Them From

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This past week I received two emails in particular that both upset and infuriated me at the same time.

The first one was an email from Animals Australia that was asking for donations. The email featured a picture of a bull that I believe is from their recent Gaza/Ban Live Export investigation.

Whilst I don’t really have any issue with Animals Australia asking for money via email, they are a business after all. The bit that infuriated me was the big bold caption that said “Because of you, we will save animals like him.”

Unfortunately for the animals, and regardless of how much money you give to Animals Australia, all they “may” be able to save other animals from, is being killed overseas.

What Animals Australia have conveniently forgotten to tell potential donors is that these animals are designated food animals, and will be killed regardless.

If it isn’t overseas, it will happen here.

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That’s No Way To Treat A Lady, But Who Cares About The Boys?

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As someone who believes that other animals shouldn’t be used for any purpose, I find it interesting and more than a little concerning that so many people are getting excited about the latest warm and fuzzy campaign from one of Australia’s ‘animal protection’ groups.

With the average consumer being forgiven for thinking that life will be rosy for chickens outside of cages, it isn’t that simple for the rest of us.

Aside from the fact that by promoting this we are increasing the brand awareness of an organisation that isn’t interested in promoting veganism, are we sending consumers a misleading message?

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