On 12/25/2003 3:31 PM, in article
, "DRB" >
opined:

>
> "The Wolf" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Why is the farm lobby opposed to slaughter of these cows for human
>> consumption in the U.S.?
>>
>> How many are there?
>
> It's not the farmers who are against it. It's the animal rights activist.

Those people are beyond the pale by any standard. Anyone belonging to peta
should have their mugs on one of Rummy's Iraqi playing cards.

> The downer cows that can be eaten for human consumption are injured animals.
> I checked with my dad (a dairy farmer), and animals that are down due to
> illness cannot be eaten for human consumption.

>
> Most of these downer cows are dairy animals that fall or get physically hurt
> somehow.

Thanks for the info, that makes sense. I knew their had to be more to it
than the *media* puts out.


Rather than just put the cow down, the farmers try to recoup part
> of the lost profit/animal worth by selling her for meat. Even taking
> precautions, most farmers are going to have a cow get hurt really badly at
> some point in time. As much as you'd like to try to save the animals, the
> cost usually isn't justifiable. If you're trying to make ends meet or run a
> business, you really can't justify spending five or six thousand dollars
> trying to save an animal that's probably only worth 1,000-1,500 dollars,
> perhaps maybe around 2,000-2,500 if it's a registered animal. Even if you
> do put forth the money, there's always the chance that the surgery, etc
> isn't going to work and the animal still won't be able to walk... It's just
> really sad. My family has a dairy farm, and unfortuneatly, we have lost a
> few cows over the years. It's absolutely heartbreaking to lose an animal
> like that...
>
>

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"Democrats **** me off," Eric Cartman.
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