The basis of morality and our justice system is freedom and equality.
A violation of freedom (of all living creatures) infringes their rights.
When ethics are not rooted in compassion, fair treatment cannot be daily practice.
No animal should be forced to display unnatural behavior or be stopped from displaying its own natural behavior for economic gain.
It's more important to be concerned with the quality
of life for animals before they die than with
the question whether it's alright to kill animals in the first place.
Rights must be controllable and non-disputable,
that's why welfare is no basis for animal
rights.
Everything that promotes welfare is of
course good.
Political policies should be based on standards and aimed to protect
the weak, and should only be secondary to the protection
of interests.
Overproduction of animal products cannot be accompanied
by environmental pollution and violation of animal
welfare.
Limiting
export is an adequate means to prevent such problems.
It's ridiculous to drag meat to one country and
then import the
same type of meat from that same country.
Some selfish pleasare
honorable and good for people and animals.
An animal-friendly cattle farm benefits when it
is economically independent and doesn't receive support
from the government.
Using violence in actions for animal rights gains
publicity, but the question remains whether this kind
of publicity incites people to bear their own responsibility towards animal rights.
Problems with factory farming
One of the most important objections against factory farming is of an ethical nature.
Even when all environmental issues are solved, and even
if the cattle farmer's energy and minerals registration
is in order, the way factory farms violate respect
for animals is unacceptable.
Man's arrogance leads to a hush-up of animal interests.
By leaving the welfare of animals to the effects
of "self-regulating" in trade and industry,
the agrarian community or hunters' associations, the government is letting
animals down.
It's no use trying to enforce animal rights legally, if these rights are not
embedded in the law.
"Would-be" modern man who is unaware of
his own non-freedom and that of animals, is addicted to meat as a luxury,
has no time for alternatives, wants easy, cheap and
fast food and is taking serious health risks.
There's no cure for indifference and no argument can get a grip on it.
Pitying
factory farmers is just as unnecessary as pitying
a factory owner who has to close down because his
products are no longer in demand.
Factory farming and exploitation of Third World
countries are a modern way of slavery.
The parallel between imported exotic pets and top-class
sport is that everyone is focused on the winner, and
nobody is interested in the enormous numbers of losses
and losers.
The possibility to exportanimal products stimulates factory farming.
Maintaining the export
position of a country's animal products is a senseless
objective.
A lower position with a product that is
answered for is to be prefered.
Cattle farmers should opt for quality instead of quantity.
Holland is too small for responsible bulk production.
Animal testing is a matter of laziness, money saving and arrogance.
Only when animal testing is outlawed, will people
start looking for creative alternatives.
A cut up bureaucracy provides a fragmented policy.
One hand is imposing import restrictions for pork
to protect the country's own factory farms, while
the other hand is dishing out subsidies to biological agriculture.
Some arguments by politicians are hypocritical and show their mainly economical interests.
While a man who is put on trial can appeal to his
right to secrecy, pigs and chicken have to meet the
impossible requirement that they have to prove that
they have feelings,
before people are inclined to consider their interests.
Fur-farms are
the most reprehensible form of factory farming.
Political parties that support this industry are at the same
time in defiance with their own principles (liberal,
Christian, reasonable or social).
Loving animals while keeping them from showing their
natural behavior is conflicting.
Means to an end
Violation of freedom must be limited,
but the right to freedom may not be violated. That's immoral.