THOUGHTS OF A POET IN THE RAIN

I’ve been thinking. Ever since someone posted the picture of the 5 or 6 bears and 2 or 3 wolves that were shot out in the field by hunters who then had a photograph taken of them and their kills I have been reading about how terrible it was. How sad. How society should make these monsters with guns pay heavily in fines and have their weapons seized and destroyed and on and on. So, I have an answer for you.

At first I was saddened because of the loss of beauty in wild life. But, I also understand the need for population and disease control which is necessary. One person wrote and said that the bears showed no signs of being hungry or distressed in any way. Bravo. That was then, what might have happened if they had not had the hunt. Oh, I’m sure I’ll get some answers on that. BUT you don’t really know the answer because, unless you are God, you can’t foresee the future. The future is changeable, even mediums will tell you that. BUT.. I digress.

So, the hunter goes out and shoots a bear having a great time eating berries. The bear dies where it was born, grew up, mated, had a life……..

Now, Mr. and Mrs. Grocery shopper…. how nice it is to go buy a piece of meat at the meat marked all wrapped up nice and neat. Right? Hey, you didn’t participate in the killing of the animal. Right? No blood on your hands (well you might get some when you unwrap the package you terror of the meat market.) But you weren’t there when the animal died, were you? NO.

Fact: beef cows taken to the meat processors are shot full of growth hormones without their permission. {Excuse me, Mrs. Cow, just a bit of a prick here, wont’ hurt much.) And then there is the branding iron…of course we all know that doesn’t hurt….much… right? Oh and the truck ride. A limo please. No, shoved in as tight as they can be so that they cannot lie down, or fall down, which is fortunate because if they did they would be trampled to death. Oh dear. So, there they stand, necks arched back, eyes wide with fear….but this is so much better than someone shooting them with a high-powered rifle that will kill them almost immediately. Oh yes, joy, joy, joy… lets all join hands and sing Kumbaya because we buy our meat at the supermarket and don’t participate in the killing of these animals. We are spiritually free of any entanglement with their deaths, no bad karma here.

Well, then they get to the processing plant and they are shoved and prodded out of the trucks and into holding pens where they again are forced to stand together, urinate and defecate together and they stand heads back as far as they can trying to breathe fresh air and wondering what is going to happen to them….but.. hey, damn site better than standing eating some berries in a field well-known to them, enjoying the buzzing of flies, watching egrets did up bugs. No, hey, they can get to hear the buzz of flies landing and placing eggs in the shit at their feet.

Then comes the march to death, down a single file runway, being prodded by cow sticks, electric shock tools….oh, isn’t that fun? Then the shell of the blood and the cries coming from inside the building and the terror mounts BUT….isn’t this fun for all of you who claim that hunters are barbaric and so horrid that they shoot an animal which dies almost immediately. NOT you want them to suffer, really suffer, and you DARE call hunters aholes and bastards and talk about how cruel they are. Well, if I was a cow I would damn sure be happier at being shot in my own pasture, a bear in my own woods, a pig out running free than being crammed into a truck, and then all the rest of it……But I grow weary, because probably only a few of you wonderful “we are better than you” people out there have even read to this point. Shall we discuss the steaming of chickens alive to get rid of the feathers? Think about that the next time you go get a package of processed chicken, skinless, boneless. They hang them up by their feet and slit their throats one after an other after another and then run them on the conveyor belt into a machine that scalds them with high pressurized steam to get the feathers off. Oh the blessings of being someone who simply can curse a hunter and go to the super market and buy your meat so nicely wrapped and you never see the horror do you. You’re such a goody person. But those damn hunters, terrorist to the animals in the field who shoot and take predators, reduce populations with licenses to do so, they are the terror you must fight against. Right? Right? Next time you buy a steak maybe you might want to stop and listen. Maybe you can hear them scream when their throats are cut  while suspended and the next person slits open the belly so the guts fall out….oh so much happier and so much better than a high-powered bullet ripping through their hearts and dropping them dead to the ground. So much better the meat processor method …. RIGHT? I can’t hear you, but if you listen you might hear their screams. So here’s the end. Don’t bother me with your shit about hunters. 99% of the time it is a clean kill where they live and with little if any pain or fear. No, go buy a steak and feel good about yourself  because YOU aren’t a nasty, terrible, hunter. You only hunt in air conditioning in the cleanliness of a grocery store.