Bleak Beauty

In the past months, PETA has implemented a unique solution to a "problem" in Turkey. PETA was angered by local farmers using their animals to move their goods into town to sell. Yes, this practice that has been used for centuries upon centuries as the only means of transportation some farmers have in order to provide financial support for their families. In true PETA fashion, they give us the impression that these farmers are of LESSER importance than the horses they use. In the article " PETA implements unique horse rescue program in Turkey" , the writer states that "In some poverty-stricken areas of Turkey, villagers resort to forcing neglected horses to pull carts carrying heavy loads in the searing heat of the Middle East to earn a meager income." So, we see these peasants as "poverty stricken individuals who earn meager incomes", while the horses are the ones that are neglected. What? Yeah, I guess your right. The farmers aren't neglected, all their needs are met. Of course, the horses just don't pull these "heavy loads", but they are forced to do it in the searing heat. The SAME searing heat that the lowly peasants toiled in for God knows how long preparing their goods, and then loaded onto the horse so these goods could be taken into town, and the lowly peasant would be able to make some money and be allowed to leave another day. God forbid he uses a horse to help him in this!

PETA did try to help the farmers though, with the sponsorship of Corinna Shumacher (the wife of famed F1 driver Micheal Shumacher), they supplied the farmers with trucks. But, they took away their horses, and forced them to sign a legal document stating they'd never use animals for work again. Again I pose the question...What? First off, Animals have been used for work for centuries, for the main fact that they are stronger than humans. A horse is able to withstand more weight than a human is. Now, the argument from PETA would be "Well, with all this new technology, we don't need to use animals." Which is probably why they supplied the farmers with trucks. I can see where they're coming from in that sense.....oh yeah, except for the fact that the farmers don't have the income to purchase some of these assets. And here's the funny part about PETA supplying the farmers with trucks. By stopping this "abuse" to animals which is very much abuse in an ideological sense, they create a new kind of abuse. An abuse in a scientific sense. Trucks pollute the environment. Horses don't. So PETA, I think your angering the Tree Huggers now, you have "solved" a problem, but created a much bigger one. You crowd the roads with more vehicles, that give off more fumes that are harmful to the evironment. I also don't think the farmers are getting brand new trucks, I believe they are getting the older style of trucks, the "not so kind to the environment" style. Look PETA, by attempting to solve one problem, you have instead created a bigger problem.

The thing about trucks is this....they need fuel to run. Fuel isn't free, fuel costs money, farmer loses money. This is just a guess too, but, I don't think the fuel price is at an all time low right now in Turkey. Funny thing about horses is that they don't run on fuel, instead, they run on food, which is cheaper than fuel. Now, if I'm a farmer who is raising crops to sell, the horse can eat those crops, thus I save money. These farmers have to maintain the trucks as well, and by making them legally oblige to "never use animals for work again", you put them in a bad position if their truck breaks down. What do they do? How do they transport they're goods? But that's okay, 'cuz SeaBiscuit doesn't have to carry the food he lives off into town. Seattle Slew can just eat all the farmers crops up, but hey! It's humane. Wait a second, no it's not.

Humane...so, it's okay to be humane to the horses, but not too the farmers who can suffer from losing their animals, or too the environment, which will suffer directly from the trucks> What is with you PETA? We are not equals with animals. We raise them, we feed them, we give them a place to sleep....then we ask them to do jobs for us. Does that kind of sound familiar? I dunno, like what parents do with their kids? Is it humane for parents to ask their kids to help out? What happens when the kid is too physically weak to do the job himself, but good 'ol Mr. Ed is more than adapt? Is it still humane to make the kid do the work?

"The rescued horses were extremely emaciated and dehydrated, and they suffered from untreated illness and injury. Two were in such poor condition that they didn’t respond to veterinary care and were euthanized to end their suffering" Hmmm, sounds an awful like the conditons some farmers that try to provide livings for their families endure as well. The farmers, who have no money, aren't able to stop working if injuries or illness befall them, they still have mouths to feed and families to look after. They need all the help they can get, this is why you have youths forced to work long backbreaking days and this is why you have animals having to help with the work. This isn't an animal rights issue, this is the result of poverty and certain governments refusal or inability to help out. These issues have been going on for centuries, and taking away the farmers animals they use and giving them one truck is not going to fix it. Sure, these animals may never have to work another day in their life, they will never have to be the mode of transportation for the farmers....but these farmers will still have to work 'till the day they die. Giving them the keys to the trucks isn't going to turn their dollars into millions, it's not going to turn their bread to steak, or their water to wine. They depend on these animals, not just for transportation, but for a variety of jobs, and you have taken that away from them.....Great work PETA. Your work touches us all.