The Great Compassion: Buddhism and Animal Rights

Norm Phelps
Lantern Books, New York, 2004
Fragmento del capítulo 1: The Rosary of Death
Versión Kindle

Every year in the United States alone, ten billion cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens,
ducks, and turkeys are killed for food and fabric. Of those, nine billion are chickens.'
Worldwide, 48 billion land animals are killed for food and fabric, of whom 46 billion
are chickens, ducks, turkeys, and geese. The number of aquatic animals-primarily
fish, lobsters, shrimp, crabs, oysters, and clams-killed for food is not known because
production estimates are made in metric tons rather than numbers of animals. In
2001, world fisheries production, both aquaculture and capture, was estimated
mated at just over 130 million metric tons, live weight. A metric ton is 2,205 pounds.
If we estimate the weight of the average fish, mollusk, and crustacean at 20 pounds,
which is probably high, this would yield a worldwide total of over 14 billion aquatic
animals slaughtered every year. The number of silkworms boiled alive each year in
the production of silk is not known. One hundred and fifteen million animals who
live in the wild are killed for pleasure.' To most Americans, who live in cities and
suburbs, sport hunting is all but invisible. They are barely aware that it goes on. And
yet, it is the second leading form of animal killing in America. More than 20 million
animals are killed in biomedical research and product testing laboratories.' Ninety
percent of these are rats and mice, but cats, dogs, rabbits, and primates are also
popular research victims. The creation of genetically modified ("transgenic") mice
for use in laboratories is now a booming industry. These unfortunate beings are
created with a genetic predisposition to contract a
 specific disease. They are deliberately designed by human beings in order that they
may suffer and die from a human-inflicted illness. 
The recent discovery that the DNA of dogs replicates human DNA more closely than
does the DNA of mice will soon lead to the creation of transgenic dogs and a
catastrophic increase in the number of dogs who suffer and die in laboratories. So
far, I have counted only the animals whose death is the purpose of their use. 
But there are millions more who die every year because they are surplus to the
need, or they have outlived their usefulness and become an economic liability. We
kill them to save the cost of their upkeep. Every year in the United States: Six to
eight million dogs and cats go into the institutions that we euphemistically call
"shelters," either because their guardians gave them up or they were found
homeless on the street. Most are normal, healthy animals who would love to have a
home; and yet more than half of them are killed simply because the number of
animals who need homes is so much greater than the number of people who go to
shelters to adopt a companion.' An estimated 20,000 racing greyhounds' and 40,000
horses," most of whom are "retired" racehorses, are killed because they are too slow
or too old to be profitable. This does not include 30,000 horses who are shipped to
Canada every year for slaughter and an unknown number who are shipped to
Mexico.
 
Horseracing fans may delude themselves that when the animals are no longer able
to compete, they are retired to a life of ease on a picturesque farm in blue grass
country. But this is true only for the lucky few who can be profitably bred. The vast
majority of "retired" American racehorses horses are sent to slaughter for pet food
or for human consumption in Europe. Unknown numbers of exotic animals from
circuses and zoos are "euthanized," sent to slaughter, or sold to canned hunts
because there is no room for them or they are no longer paying their way as public
attractions.' Even now, we have not counted the billions of animals who are killed
accidentally every year. Their individual deaths may not be intentional, but we do
little or nothing to reduce the number of victims. We would rather kill them than
bear the minimal inconvenience and cost of saving their lives.