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July 18, 2008

Do Pigs Matter?

There's a story out today about how the army trains its medics in emergency triage by having the soldiers shoot and then treat live pigs for practice. They say it is necessary to save human lives because the soldiers need to practice their medical treatment on living tissue.

As someone who eats pigs on a regular basis but also finds them to be wonderfully smart animals, I am really torn up on this issue. I have long been angry about the treatment of pigs headed for slaughter - the confining cages and cruel treatment they get. When you realize that pigs are as smart as dogs, it becomes all the more clear why they should not be treated that way. On the other hand, they're a big part of the American diet, so I am naturally set up for internal conflict.

I remember reading somewhere that Native Americans would, after a successful hunt, thank the animal for his life. There was a sense of respecting the fact that another died so that you could live. I guess that's where I stand on the matter. I would not go so far as to be vegetarian, but I believe the animals we raise for food deserve to have a pleasant existence and be killed in as painless a way as possible.

But this shooting of pigs for practice seems blatantly inhuman to me. While I deeply respect those who volunteer to serve in the military and certainly do not want their lives placed in further jeopardy, is this really necessary? Doesn't the suffering of the pigs matter more than that?

Posted by Becky at July 18, 2008 10:11 AM