Do animals know they are about to be killed

[Catherine]

Peta raises an interesting point and has videos that may hold the answer.

Many animals try to escape and even succeed when they are at the slaughter house. I think they know what is happening. Why else would a pig leap from a moving truck.

http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...t=2&at=dt0

They make a good point. We cheer when one animal escapes and is rescued. What about all the others?

[LPC]

Yes, that is exactly the point. Many people cheer on an escaped animal - but that doesn't stop many of them from tucking into their next steak or lamb chop. The real question for such people is:

If you were in the line to be killed, how would you feel about meat eating? There have been science fiction stories where people are killed for food by other so-called more intelligent beings from other worlds. It doesn't need a lot of imagination to understand the fear these animals go through.

[Ruth]

I am so glad that cow got away!! I have seen many videos of animals being killed while its animal friends looked on. I think they are thinking that's what is going to happen to them. I would love to see all of the animals in slaughter houses running away from the butchers.

[Catherine]

I think I secretly dream of a day when a group of animals at a slaughterhouse turns and attacks the people. If one can get away, what would happen if they all ran. (maybe I remember the beginning of Animal Farm and wish it was so)

I have read quite a few science fiction stories where humans were the food for another alien species. We didn't like it. The one book series was very scary. They almost won. I haven't read the final book yet. I have read the book that comes after the last book. It is a scary series.

Animals feel just as much fear as any human would. They know what is happening.

We can clean up the factory farming mess and be more humane, but it still comes down to animals waiting to be killed. There is no way to make that one nicer.

Either animals are killed or we stop eating meat.

[Ruth]

I agree. The commercials on tv are constantly trying to push meat on people. Arby's is always saying "we have the meats". I think they are having so many commercials because people are pulling away from eating meat these days.

[Catherine]

There is a drop in meat consumption. Some of it is for health reasons, but I think most people just don't want to be part of the factory farming system.  That must be affecting their business. Some places are starting to serve non meat alternatives.