A Visit to the Farm Sanctuary in Upstate New York Can Change Your Ideas About Animal Cruelty on Factory Farms

On my summer vacation I visited the Farm Sanctuary near Watkins Glen, New York and learned that the domestic turkey has been bred to grow so big it can no longer copulate normally and all domestic turkeys are produced by artificial insemination.

Before I tell you what else I did and learned on my summer vacation, I must tell you that I am not a vegan, vegetarian, PETAphile or even much of an animal lover. I also am not opposed to hunting and fishing, although I am opposed to it when it is done just for sport.

So why were we at the Farm Sanctuary? My daughter, who loves animals very much, is thinking of interning there. Wanting to support her, I thought it would be a good idea if we visited the sanctuary first.

Why I Did Not Want to be at the Farm Sanctuary at First

When we arrived at the farm sanctuary, I was not very happy. First, I was tired after hiking up through the gorge in Watkins Glen earlier that morning. Secondly, I found out that the tour was not done on a hay wagon, but we would have to walk the entire route. Finally, I read a number of bumper stickers that made me realize that politically, theologically and socially, I was an alien here.

While waiting for the tour, I made a number of uncharitable comments.

"She must be a vegan because there's no meat on her bones."

"If a child and a dog were drowning in a pond, these people would save the dog and let the baby drown."

What I Learned at the Farm Sanctuary near Watkins Glen, New York

But I must admit I learned a lot on the tour. The modern turkey's inability to satisfy his sexual urges may have been the most unusual thing, but it was not the most important. The most important thing I learned is that many farm animals are not protected by animal cruelty laws and that factory farms, as opposed to family farms, are deliberately cruel.

Here is one example of the cruelty from Farm Sanctuary literature. It might be argued that this is animal rights propaganda. Even if only half of what Farm Sanctuary says is true, however, then we are accepting cruelty to farm animals that we would not tolerate if it happened to our pets, zoo animals or animals in the wild.

"Nearly ten billion chickens and over a quarter billion turkeys are hatched in the U.S. annually. These birds are typically crowded by the thousands into huge, factory-like warehouses where they can barely move. Each chicken is given less than half a square foot of space, while turkeys are each given less than three square feet. Shortly after hatching, both chickens and turkeys have the ends of their beaks cut off, and turkeys also have the ends of their toes clipped off. These mutilations are performed without anesthesia, ostensibly to reduce injuries that result when stressed birds are driven to fighting."

Some Other Examples of Cruelty to Animals and Other Problems on Factory Farms

At the Farm Sanctuary we saw a number of these birds, including Chicky, an inappropriately named turkey. He was obese and did indeed have his beak clipped off, and it was not a pretty sight.

For those of you who think that foie gras is a delicacy, here is how it is made. Ducks are force fed several times a day until they become obese and their livers grow to ten times the normal size. By the time the duck is slaughtered, it can barely stand, walk or even breathe. After it is killed, the diseased, overgrown liver is then offered to you as foie gras at upscale restaurants.

While most farms in New York State are family farms where animals are treated humanely, there are a number of factory farms. Besides treating animals with unnecessary cruelty, these farms pose health hazards to humans. The amount of manure produced by them is more than they can spread on their fields, and it is held in lagoons. These lagoons sometimes break, as one did in Lewis County in 2005 spilling three million gallons of manure into the Black River.

While I Still Have Issues with Animal Rights People, Legislation to Ban Cruelty on Factory Farms Needs to be Passed

While I am glad I visited the Farm Sanctuary, I still have problems with it. Each pig they keep costs $8,000 a year to maintain and lives a better life than many third world children. I still don't buy the idea that animals and humans are equal. I still despise PETA and don't even have much sympathy for the new animal rights group in Montgomery County called MONA, which wants neighbor to spy on neighbor and report animal abuse.

Nevertheless, legislation needs to be passed in New York State that requires all farm animals to have a minimum amount of space. Some states have already passed such legislation. California is voting on it this fall. California's Proposition 2 will ban factory farms from raising chickens, calves or hogs in small pens or cages.

Such legislation doesn't just help define what an animal is and what rights it has. It helps define what it means to be human, and cruel is not an adjective I want put in front of my name.

So what did we do after we left the Farm Sanctuary? We went to Burger King where I ate a chicken sandwich.

Old habits die hard.