Life of Animals in the Assembly Line

Industrial Revolution has led to tremendous progress in our human civilization. Due to the automated machineries moving in the assembly line, we could acheive more production with less effort and time. But have you ever wondered the effect of Industrial Revolution on the domesticated animals such as Chickens, Sheeps, Goats, Pigs, Cows etc.?

In this post, we shall analyse the effect of Automated machineries on the domesticated animals and also the overall effect of domestication of animals on the quality of lives of such animals-

Life of Chickens

There are about 25 Billion domesticated chickens in the world enslaved by humans to satiate their hunger. These Chickens would have lived for about 7-10 years in the wild, but we slaughter them in the average age of few weeks to few months, because Chickens already grow to their full size till then, and there is no economic sense to keep them alive further. Only egg laying hens can be allowed to live through their fertile years.

Once hatched, chickens are typically raised in large-scale facilities, where they are kept in cramped, overcrowded conditions. They may be housed in windowless sheds with little access to natural light or fresh air. They are often kept on litter floors, which can become contaminated with feces and bacteria, leading to disease and infection.

When Chickens attain their full size, they are sent to the assembly line for ‘processing’. The first step is to shackle the animal upside down by their leg in the overhead conveyor. Then they are stunned by bathing them in the electrocuted water. Then the coneyor moves the Chickens to the automatic cutter, which slits their throats and the Chickens bleed to their death. After that their feathers are removed by the plucking machine, and the Chickens are successfully processed into meat. Please watch the below video to understand the entire process-

Another cruel process followed by the Chicken Industry is the process of Chick Shredding. Chick shredding, also known as chick culling, is the process of killing newly hatched male chicks in the egg industry because they are not considered economically viable for egg production. Male chicks are typically destroyed by being shredded alive in a machine called a macerator. The macerator grinds up the live chicks into small pieces, which are then used as animal feed or disposed of as waste. Please watch the below video to understand this cruel process-

Life of a Mother Cow

Imagine a mother being constantly impregnated through artificial semen every year, then as soon as she starts breastfeeding her baby, she is separated from her baby and then milked by some other animal who consumes the milk meant for her baby. And this cycle continues for many times in her life. Can you imagine the psychological stress that the mother will be suffering? Yes, this exactly is the life of a Mother Cow in the dairy industry.

Cows in the dairy industry are bred using artificial insemination to maximize their milk production. They are typically impregnated every year or so, which involves inserting semen into their reproductive tract. When the cow gives birth, the calf is separated from the mother within hours or days. The Mother cows grief for many days due to such separation. Male calves are often sent to slaughter or sold for veal production, while female calves are raised to replace older cows in the herd.
After separation, the cows are milked either through hand or through milking machine twice a day.

The cow is milked for about 10 months until her milk production starts to decline. At this point, she is impregnated again to begin the cycle anew. This cycle of impregnation, milking, and separation from offspring is repeated for several years until the cow’s milk production declines to a point where she is considered “spent” and sent to slaughter.

The constant cycle of impregnation, milking, and separation from offspring causes huge emotional distress for the cow. Lets understand this with the help of this video-

Life of Pigs

Pigs are bred using artificial insemination to maximize production efficiency. Pregnant sows are moved to gestation crates for the duration of their pregnancy. When the sow gives birth, she is moved to a farrowing crate.

When a sow is confined to a farrowing crate, she is unable to move or turn around, leading to discomfort and stress. This lack of mobility can also lead to muscle and joint problems, as well as difficulty breathing. The sow is often unable to build a proper nest for her piglets, leading to a lack of maternal care and bonding between the sow and her offspring. Also the sow has to defecate and urinate inside the farrowing crate which leads to lack of hygiene and diseases.

Once the piglets are weaned, they are moved to a separate area of the facility where they can grow and fatten up for slaughter. This involves feeding them a diet that is designed to promote rapid growth and weight gain.

When the pigs have reached the desired weight and size, they are sent to a slaughterhouse to be killed and processed for meat. This involves stunning the pigs with a captive bolt gun or electric shock and then bleeding them out. Watch this video to know more-

Mutilation

Another form of animal cruelty in these industrialised animal farms is the process of mutilation of the body parts of the animals not ‘efficient’ for the production. These mutilations are generally performed without any pain relief and while the animals are fully conscious.
Let us understand this with help of this video-

Domestication of animals have lead to the more number of domesticated animals like Chickens, Cows, Pigs etc. But on the other hand, it has significantly reduced the quality of life of these animals. Although its the nature’s rule that one animal eats the other animal to keep themselves alive, but no other species apart from humans have enslaved animals and subjected them to such torture and then killed them through mechanised machines. Isn’t it cruel to subject animals to such torture? The answer we must find within ourselves.

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