DON’T GO HUNTING

     Some people call hunting a sport, but a sport is an activity that involves people who want to play.  Some people think hunting is great fun, but how can it be fun to kill an animal?
Hunters say that they play an important role in keeping animal populations down.  They say if it wasn’t for them, the animals would starve in the winter because there isn’t enough food for them. This isn’t so. Most species of animals regulate their population and have more babies when there’s plenty of food and less babies when there isn’t.  It’s been found that in places where hunting is legal, populations grow faster than in places where hunting isn’t allowed.   Hunters also kill predators of deer including bears, bobcats, mountain lions and coyotes. If they really wanted the population of deer to decrease, they would leave the predators alone.
In nature, weak, old and injured animals usually die off first and the strongest survive.  Hunters on the other hand usually kill the biggest, healthiest and strongest who probably would have survived the winter anyway. That’s bad for all the animals.
Some hunters are not very responsible.  They will shoot an animal and not kill it and then fail to follow it to finish the job.  These animals die terrible deaths.  Hunters also kill other animals by mistake like dogs.  They also shoot people accidentally on occasion.
Think very hard about whether you want to kill animals, even bugs.

SKIP THE CIRCUS--AND THE RODEO

Performing animals have very difficult lives. They travel thousands of miles each year under stressful conditions. 
Animals like tigers and bears often have their teeth and claws removed so they can’t strike back. 
They often learn their tricks by being prodded or beaten. 
Because they are afraid of being hurt, they perform stupid and sometimes dangerous tricks.
Elephants don’t normally do headstands.
Wild animals don’t enjoy entertaining people.
Can you imagine what it must be like to be forced to do something you don’t like twice a day and then to be kept alone in a small cage between performances?  It would be a stressful, sad and lonely life.

Rodeo animals also suffer. 
Leather belts are tied tightly around the bellies of horses and bulls in order
to make them so uncomfortable they buck and thrash around. 
The calves who are roped often get hurt really badly.
Rodeo animals are transported all over the country in cramped trucks just
to perform for people.
If you see performing animals, use this checklist to note any problems:
Are the animals wearing chains and muzzles?
Are they wearing silly costumes?
Does the trainer use a whip?
Do the animals have sores, cuts, or scars?
Are animals forced to jump through flaming hoops? (Animals are afraid of fire).
Do they look happy or sad?
How many unnatural and dangerous stunts do the animals perform, such as riding bicycles, skating, dancing,walking upright and balancing on balls?
Send your checklist to the local paper with a letter asking others to boycott the event.  Or ask your teacher to have a discussion group or let you write a paper about what you’ve seen. When the circus or rodeo comes to your town, write a letter to the editor of your newspaper. Your letter will give many people an idea of what happens behind the scenes.
You can also ask the cruelty investigator at your humane society to look for problems behind the scenes, like animals in cramped, dirty stalls, or animals who have been whipped, shocked or beaten.
You don’t have to go to the circus or rodeo. By not paying to attend, you’re casting a vote. You’re saying you won’t spend your money to support activities you don’t believe in.
Support circuses, like Cirque du Soleil, that do not use performing animals to entertain people.

STEER CLEAR OF VEAL

     Have you ever had veal cutlets?  Did you wonder what veal really was?  Veal is the flesh of a baby cow called a calf.  Veal calves have especially hard lives and it’s difficult to believe what happens to them.  It’s important that you know about it though so that you can decide whether or not you want to eat veal.  It’s also important that you let your family and friends know where veal comes from.
Some people like to drink milk from cows. In order for a dairy cow to produce milk, she has to keep having babies.  When the cows have female calves, they’re likely to grow up to be dairy cows like their mom.  When the cows have male calves though, many of them are taken away from their moms right after they are born to be raised as veal.
These babies are put in tiny wooden stalls all by themselves.   They’re chained at the neck so they can’t turn around or move more than a step forward or backward.  All they can do is stand up and lie down.  This is done so that they don’t develop muscles so that their meat stays very tender.   Twice a day they are given some liquid food.  This food contains chemicals that will help the babies survive under these awful conditions.  Except for feeding time, they are all alone.  This is very hard on babies who are meant to be in a herd with their moms, aunts, cousins, etc.  These babies never get to play or graze or feel the sunshine of their backs or be with their mothers.  They spend their entire lives in the dark in little stalls until they’re big enough to be killed and turned into veal – usually around 16 weeks old (about 4 months).
One million baby cows are raised like this in the U.S. every year.
When the calves are old enough to be killed, they are forced to walk to trucks that will take them to the slaughterhouse.  Because they were never allowed to exercise, they have trouble walking.  People use electric prods to force them into the trucks.  When they are too weak, they are chained around the neck or one leg and dragged.
The best way to help veal calves is to not eat veal.  You can also tell everybody you know what happens to baby cows for veal.
You might want to check out the menus at nearby restaurants.   If you see a menu with veal on it, you can write or talk to the manager and explain about veal calves.
The reason we have so many veal calves is because we keep making cows give us milk. You can help veal calves by drinking less milk and eating less cheese and ice cream.  You can substitute soy milk for cows’ milk.  There are also substitutes for ice cream and cheese.
Some people think you have to drink milk to get calcium to build strong bones.  This is not true.  You can get calcium from many sources.   The funny thing is that when you eat a lot of meat and drink a lot of milk you get too much protein and that washes away all the calcium.  There are people in some countries where milk is not available who have stronger bones than we do because they get their calcium from better sources.
    

Bariloche School