Glass Walls
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One Christmas morning during college my boyfriend gave me a pet fish. The fish was a beautiful, black, fancy goldfish. I was confused by this “gift” and I was worried about what it meant that my boyfriend thought giving me a goldfish was a good idea. I never wanted a pet fish. I didn’t like the idea of keeping caged animals, like birds or hamsters. But I accepted responsibility for the fish’s survival and immediately began researching goldfish care.
One of the first things I learned was that goldfish bowls are unsuitable environments for goldfish. Goldfish are pretty “messy” fish who dirty their water quickly. They need some form of filtration. Moreover, goldfish can grow up to about a foot and live as long as 20-40 years! But when they’re kept in a tiny bowl, goldfish ‘only grow as big as the bowl.’ That is, they develop curvature of the spine and the goldfish die from the deformity. Think: foot binding.
So I bought a large 30 gallon tank with filtration for my little goldfish, whom I named Othello. I learned all about water chemistry and how to keep the tank safe for him. Goldfish need clean, aerated water. If the tank’s filter breaks or isn’t set up correctly, fish in the tank can literally suffocate to death. I cleaned the tank once a month with my Python fish tank cleaner and while I cleaned, Othello would swim by my hands and let me “pet” him.
Goldfish eat all kinds of things and, like pigs and dogs, often don’t know when to stop. They can gorge themselves until they’re sick. So fish-care requires small, regular feedings. Othello knew when it was dinner time because he’d come up to meet me at the surface. But when other people came up to the tank to admire his beauty, he ignored them.
I really think Othello knew me. I think he trusted me. But regardless of his mental state, he literally relied on me for his entire survival. I was his care-giver, his only care-giver. His life was in my hands.
Then my boyfriend and I broke up and I moved out. Othello was about the size of my hand by then and of course he came with me. I carefully moved him and all his tank equipment to my new apartment. But I made a mistake when I was setting it back up. I turned the filter speed down. The next morning I awoke to find Othello dead. He suffocated.
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Last Thursday night someone – probably an angry former farm worker – turned off the airflow to one of Iowa’s pig barns. Because modern pig barns have similarities to fishtanks, the lack of fresh air caused nearly 4000 pigs to suffocate in the fumes from their own waste.
Farm workers know what these fumes are like. And what they can do. From the Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology. 2006; 1: 10:
Swine barn workers suffer from higher incidences of impaired air flow and lung inflammation, which is attributed to high intensity and interrupted exposures to pig barn air. The air in these barns contains gases, dust, microbes and endotoxin with endotoxin being the major suspect as the cause of lung dysfunction.
From one news story about the pigs’ deaths:
“It was a pretty terrible thing to see,” Deputy Jim Landau said. “We looked in and there they were. Snout to snout.”
Another story claims: “The loss is expected to be more than $200,000″ as if the monetary value of these animals is all that matters.
Most people don’t even know these intensive pig farms exist. Most people have no idea that their pork, ham, or bacon comes from cruel factory farms. Most people have no idea of the damage that these farms do to the environment, animals, and people.
What if these farms were more like fish tanks? What if they had glass walls?
Find out more at Meat.org.
I really liked this story. It is interesting how some companion animals are viewed in terms of dollars or investment. When your dog dies, you don’t say, “Damn, she was purebred, too, cost me $1200 plus food and toys, I’m out big on this loss…” However, I was recently talking to a friend who talked about a power outage killing $1000 worth of tropical fish in his tank at home and how devastated he was at the loss [of money]. I hope when I die, my life isn’t summed up by my monetary worth.
“Here lies this guy,
buried in the Earth,
$43 was in his account,
that’s what he was worth.”
First point… this totally disproves the industry’s constant theme of “we take care of our animals 24/7″. It must have taken at least 5 – 7 hours for these pigs to die. The truth is, their systems are so “automated”, everything takes care of itself. They need only record (inspect) gauge measurements once/twice a day. This is a “machine”… not a place where farmers “work”.
And I guess I’m a suspicious soul by nature. When I hear of these barn fatalities and the frequent barns that go up in flames… My first inclination is to think “scam” at the hands of the owners/managers. They are always covered by insurance and these incidents seems to happen when their market takes a down turn. I wouldn’t rule out the “farmers” if I were investigating these cases, that’s for sure.
But I do agree, more people – everybody – needs to be made aware of what horrors are in these hell holes.
.-= Bea Elliott´s last blog ..Two Face Animal Ag Billboard – Slaughterhouse Care =-.
Trying to do right by fishes: I have a large outdoor pond… With only 6 fishes it’s a very spacious environment for them. Frogs & bugs lay their eggs and this provides the majority of their fish meals. But even though it’s as “natural” as possible, they still depend on me to unstop and clean the filter so the water/oxygen keeps flowing. And I don’t like this situation at all… Being responsible for the very “air” that is necessary to keep life going – Well, it’s like being a god. And often this “god” puts their needs very low on the list…
I think it’s interesting though, that one of the first “pets” a child will usually get is a fish – This begins the whole indoctrination into confining and controlling another being for our amusement. After that graduate to “catching” fish for pleasure… I think keeping fishes like any other life that could live independent of us, starts a very slippery slope that winds up in pig barns and slaughterhouses – All desperately needing glass walls, I agree!
.-= Bea Elliott´s last blog ..Round Two – Eating Pigs and Dog – Are Tastebuds Ruling Your Logic Go Vegan! =-.