What Should I Do?

Question

I went to visit my aunt and uncle out in the country and I came back spitting mad. I discovered that they live near a lot of farms that own animals. I went door to door handing out my animal rights group lit and almost everybody slammed the door on me. The worst was a horse farm where I saw horses with horse shoes on them I told then in no certain terms that horse shoes were animal abuse and so were the farms. They told me they didn't believe it. I told them if they didn't correct their ways I was going to stage a protest in their front driveway.

Should I do that? My aunt and uncle said no, but they don't understand the cruelty behind farming and horse shoes. Should I just pepper them with more literature instead? I really think a protest maybe the best way. What do you think?

Answer 1

i think that you live in those farm areas where they dont really give a rats *** about animals, if they have a full stomach, then they dont care.



i hate that. i really hate those people

Answer 2

I think that you should "tread" carefully. (pun intended, lol)

This isn't YOUR home, this is your aunt and uncles. These are their neighbors and you are attacking their way of life and livelihood. I don't think that's terribly appropriate.

Also, I don't get where you think the use of shoeing a horse is inhumane! Horseshoes protect the horse's hooves from serious harm. Horses in captivity do not have the diet necessary to retain a hard enough hoof. This can result in serious injury to the horse. Additionally horses that are being ridden or are from working farms need that extra support as well. SO please- let them continue to protect their horses at least. If you're going to protest something, protest something that really is harmful, not helpful.



When you consider trying to "inform" someone- it's really important to ensure that you are fully informed yourself first. Otherwise you come off as looking rather silly. Then no one takes you seriously even on the issues that you may be correct about.



Another thing to consider is that people live differently. In some areas of the country, people hunt for food. They eat what they kill and use most of the animal. I find that much more respectable than the people who meander into the grocery store and toss a steak into the cart. It's MUCH more respectable than the people who go online to online hunting sites, place the cursor on top of a penned animal and click on it. That animal is subsequently killed and shipped to them. So- take into account how these people live before criticizing them and their practices. People may say the Amish over work their animals, but these people cannot survive without them and may in turn point to you driving in a car doing damage to our very environment.



Do you wear leather shoes? Do you have a Suede jacket? Do you use hair product with animal byproduct or placenta? Do you eat Jell-O or marshmallows? Do you eat Beef? Do you drive in cars? Do you use electricity? Do you use cosmetics? Are they cruelty free, not tested on animals?



This microscope can be turned on you. Why don't you start there. Ensure that YOU live animal cruelty free. Spread the word to interested parties, avoid the use of companies that are not cruelty free. BEFORE you go attacking someone else's way of life.



I think your heart is in the right place, and that's a good place to start. ;-}



I think if everyone looked to THEMSELVES to try to save the world- examining our OWN homes, vehicles, jobs, purchases, habits, needs, etc- the world would be a whole lot better off.

Answer 3

You're not in the city anymore - the morals, history and way of life in the country differ greatly than what you'll find out in the 'burbs. If you want to protest factory farms, go ahead - protest against the massive corporations that operate them, protest against how those animals are treated and raised/harvested with truely questionable methods, and proest how they squeeze the margins of the family farm to near zero. If these are family farms, you obviously have little true understanding to how things work on most family farms.



FYI - horse shoes are nailed into the hoof. The hoof is like a finger nail - you can cut, file or nail into it painlessly. There is some debate as to if horseshoes are needed on some breads and in all situtations, but it has little or nothing to do with the pain of process, but as to the long term health of the hoof itself.



Vegetarian for ethical reasons? Fine. I hope you are true and consistent to the environment and only eat and support LOCAL and truely ORGANIC producers. If not ... do a little research into high intensity (non-animal) farming processes and the amount of chemicals, petroleum by-products and energy is utilized to grow, harvest and ship those products around the planet.

Answer 4

what you need to realize is that horses have hooves. which are really just a huge toenail. they don't have feeling in them. and most horses NEED horseshoes. and having a farm does not mean they are doing anything that has to do with animal cruelty, whether you believe it or not. leave them alone. honestly, the only thing that you will gain from protesting- is a trip to jail. because they will most likely call the police.









'A horseshoe is a "U"-shaped item made of metal or of modern synthetic materials, nailed or glued to the hooves of horses and some other draught animals. Like a shoe on a human, it is used to protect the animal's feet from wear and tear. '





'The Visible Hoof

Surrounding the sensitive laminae is the horny laminae. This layer is quite hard and has no feeling. It attaches to the outer wall of the hoof in a similar fashion to hook and loop fastener. The margin where the wall and the horny laminae attach is called the white line. The white line provides the farrier with a visual indication of how deep he can trim the hoof, and where to set in the nails for horseshoes.

The wall is similar in composition and function to our fingernails and is constantly growing. The wall of the hoof can be very thin, or very thick depending on the type of horse, its nutrition and environment. Wild horses wear down hoof growth naturally, but domestic horses require regular trimming by a farrier. The color of the hoof is influenced by the color of the skin above it, so that if a horse has white markings directly above the hoof the hoof itself may carry down the same pigmentation. Many people believe that hooves with black walls are stronger than hooves with white walls. '

Answer 5

Have you gone wacko?



I'm vegan, but I'm no idiot. Horse shoes are needed silly. Why do you think they put them on in the fist place, for a decoration? No, when horses live in areas where the ground is not part of their natural environment, they need horse shoes or their hooves will either wear completely down, or rot, or both... Horse shoes prevent wear and tear... don't you wear shoes?? Yes, of course, because you are living an unnatural life, living in a land that is completely unnatural to human feet. Same with horses. Their hooves are pointed naturally, but they are filed flat and shoes put on, if this wasn't done and they were allowed to go natural, they'd eventually just have to shoot the horse and put it out of it's misery. See, horses are imported from all over the world... some types of horses are from a very dry part of the world... where I live, they need jackets in the winter too. Other horsed are from colder parts of the world and do not need jackets and are fine. I wear a jacket in the winter too... and shoes, socks, pants, underwear... and many layers in the winter, touque on my head, gloves... no way I'm going to go all natural unless I live in the Amazon jungle or somewhere conducive to human existence.



> almost everybody slammed the door on me

Duh! Most people take very good care of their animals, even if they do eventually slaughter them. Family farms and factory farms to two different things.



Well, that's what I think.



And it's far easier to educate the young than it is to try to change the ways of the old.

Answer 6

You really need to calm down.Obviously you are a very nice and sweet girl, but someone filled your mind with a lot of false nonsense. Nothing wrong with farms, or farm animals in general, and farmers and their horses have been around for a long time. If you go out and live among these people, and watch the way they treat these animals, and how really good most Farmer are, you Will change your mind. But even if you don't, you have no more rite to tell them how to live their lives than they do to tell you how to live your. I suspect your teachers are very out of touch with the real world.

Answer 7

It's not easy to please those deluded by societal norm.

Sometimes you need to view to them any appropriate "video" for "ice-breaking". They just another pretty innocent guilty.



Humans—who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals—have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain. A sharp distinction between humans and ‘animals’ is essential if we are to bend them to our will, make them work for us, wear them, eat them— without any disquieting tinges of guilt or regret.



For modern animal agriculture, the less the consumer knows about what’s happening before the meat hits the plate, the better. If true, is this an ethical situation? Should we be reluctant to let people know what really goes on, because we’re not really proud of it and concerned that it might turn them to vegetarianism? If the public knew more about the way in which agricultural and animal production infringes on animal welfare, the outcry would be louder. In my opinion, if most urban end-users were to visit an industrial livestock, to see how the birds are raised and ‘harvested’, how the animals are peeled of the skin, they would not be impressed and some, perhaps many of them would swear off eating chicken and perhaps all meat, leather and honey!

Answer 8

I would suggest you join PETA. Your opinion is very minority and viewed as extremist by most people, so there is no way you will get results on your own. You need to gather with other like-minded people. There are also tons of animal cruelties far worse than being a horse on a farm. Protesting poultry farms is more successful, since even the most basic conditions for the animals could be improved without serious cost increases.

Do not expect people to simply give up their livelihood based on literature or someone on the street with a sign. You need to work on figuring out a good motive for them to change - something they will see. So talk about how steroids and medications in horses and cows are turning up in the soil around their farm and contaminating ground water, or show them the better economics of turning their agribusiness into producing vegetables or even grains for fuel replacements.

If you want to achieve your results from others, you need to address it in terms of their interests - you can look at articles about "Persuasive Speaking" to understand the better approaches to changing people's opinions. Marc Anthony in Roman history was famous for a great speech about Julius Ceasar that began by echoing the crowds opionions, then subtly making an argument to change them - it worked. Persuasion is an artform and you need to master it when you are trying to change behavior. Confrontation makes people get defensive and just re-enforces their stance - even if they were not hard-line about it before.

Answer 9

You know, some people depend solely on their animals to make a living. That's their choice in life, and you're extremely self-absorbed to think that everyone should think like you. I think you need to get out and see more of the world.

Answer 10

I think you should definitely do the protest. This way when you step on their property they will probably think you are one of their animals and club you over the head and have you for dinner. You need to realize people in the world have different beliefs than you. If you are going to protest than you need to protest everybody that eats meat or has pets and good luck with that.

Answer 11

Wow ash where do u come up with this stuff??



Hey serious pple take it easy she's kiddin.



Just stories to get a rise outa uz.

Answer 12

I hope one of their shod horses kicks you right between the eyes.

Answer 13

You know me. I always say go for the protest. I'd love to see the new Ashley avatar with the horseshoe imprint on the forehead!

Answer 14

you are unbelievably ignorant and arrogant...

you think human will change thousands of years of history of farming and stop eating meat just because you protest?

yeah, the other answerer is right; get a life!

Answer 15

You don't wear a poneytail, by chance, do you? You know what they say that you find underneath of a poneytail, a poney's as*!! LOL!

Answer 16

what you should do is get a life.........your crap is getting very boring

schools out....ashley is back