The March to Death

I am trying to imagine being an animal standing in line for slaughter. I know what it sounds like, I have seen countless videos. But I cannot even begin to imagine what it FEELS like.

I’d think (although non-vegans don’t like the comparison) it would feel much like standing in line at Auschwitz or a similar death camp. You don’t know what is happening, you are petrified, and you can hear all these strange sounds that strike terror in your heart. If your children are with you…you desperately seek a way to protect them, to assure and comfort them. You desire to live - and struggle to live - but there is no path for escape.

Then I imagined my precious, beloved pets in line for slaughter. Having seen multiple slaughterhouses, I am well-aware they can hear the terrified screams of other animals before them, and I know how my companion animals react to a distressed animal sound on the television or computer…the fear I can imagine, the terror…it overwhelms my heart to even envision such horror.

Then I think of the babies. Veal babies. Lamb babies. Calfskin coat babies. How frightened and alone. I think of their mother’s desperate desire to protect them…if they only knew what we do to their beloved babies.