Post by TheCatzPajamas on Sept 14, 2012 18:01:05 GMT -5
so I was at the National Heirloom Expo in CA this week, & there was a sign on one of the farm displays defining what animal welfare on a bio-dynamic farm was. It said that de-beaking, de-clawing, de-horning, wing clipping, & tail docking were all prohibited. I thought that was interesting. I can understand de-beaking, & de-clawing, & even de-horning if it's done badly, but... wing clipping? it just keeps them from flying over fences & getting eaten by the dogs. our chickens are free range on a certain portion of the property, but we live near a creek, so if they could fly they'd kill themselves flying in places they shouldn't go. there are plenty of wild animals around. not to mention my garden would take a beating. so anyway, i'm wondering, what's your take on that? is it cruel & awful to clip your chickens' wings (i'm talking about just using scissors to cut the outer feathers off of one wing so they can't fly very far, similar to trimming your nails) and why would they put that in the animal cruelty category? And what if you de-horn your cattle humanely, not with a bandsaw or bands or anything, but like with painkillers & the vet & everything? Why is that considered cruel? they also prohibit ANY use of antibiotics. Well, what do you do if your cow gets something like a systemic infection spread by flies, or a major case of mastitis? Sure, the use of antibiotics on a routine, regular basis is bad, I can see that, but what about the every once in awhile sicknesses/injuries etc. that just happen? The sign really got me thinking & wondering how realistic biodynamics really is.
Just wondering what everyone's take is on that.
Just wondering what everyone's take is on that.