Kids or pigs - you decide

On November 7, 2006 the voting public of the State of Arizona will have the opportunity to walk out of the polling booth and send a loud signal to the rest of America. We know history and we don’t want to relive it. Proposition 204 is on the ballot. If this law were enacted, it would give animals in the state their own rights. Animals need to be properly cared for but they should not be given legal rights.

The proponents of 204 have spent millions of dollar trying to blur the line between humans and animals. After carefully studying the Animal Rights agenda for years, I have determined that their mission is more about dehumanizing people than it is about elevating the status of animals.

You may find it interesting to know that the first government to take this approach existed about 70 years ago. It was called the National Socialist Party or NAZI for short.
It is well documented that Adolph Hitler’s regime in Germany enacted the most comprehensive set of laws protecting animals. The "Animal Protection Law in 1933" clearly attempted to blur the line between humans and animals.

There were laws instated to protect horses and pets and laws involving laboratory research animals. There was even a regulation regarding the boiling process for lobsters. Laws restricting gun ownership and hunting were quick to follow.

The Nazis also had a fondness for protecting the wilderness. Their version of the “Endangered Species” laws was intended to preserve various species of animals. Ironically, they went to great lengths of protect animals, but they justified the killing of six million Jewish human beings.

As a 6th generation United States farmer, I can tell you that today’s food animals have far better living conditions than at any time in the history of the world. I can share stories about my childhood jobs including sitting with sows that were giving birth to ensure that the piglets were not smashed or eaten by their mothers. In those days, before we began to use acceptable, modern livestock facilities, those that are at issue on the Arizona ballot, it was not uncommon to lose six piglets if the sow happened to roll over just the wrong way. Sows, by nature, are not kind individuals and placing them in individual stalls is the best means of protecting the weaker individuals from the bullies. If you haven’t seen a sow whose uterus has prolapsed because other animals piled on top of her in times of extreme weather conditions, you might struggle to understand the benefits of individual housing units and climate controlled buildings. I have seen it and if you can open your mind enough to imagine it, you will see why producers want what is best for their animals.
Farmers have implemented management procedures based on what is best for their food animals because if their animals suffer, their reproductive performance fails and so does the farm. But what Arizona voters must ask themselves, as they cast their vote, is “What will come to me next?” I was taught in school that the purpose of the government is to protect its citizens. A pig or any other food animal does not rank on the scale of citizenship unless of course you follow the logic of Animal Rights groups who have indicated “the life of an ant and that of my child should granted equal consideration”.

I feel fortunate that in today’s world of readily available information the Arizona voters will have the opportunity to educate themselves and not blindly walk into the voting booth. Educated voters will vote NO on Proposition 204. History speaks for itself. In the United States of America, we value the life of our kids above that of any food animal. Let’s keep it that way!

Trent Loos is a 6th generation United States farmer and producer, host of the "Loos Tales" radio show, public speaker and founder of Faces of Agriculture, which puts the human element back into food production. Find out more at www.FacesOfAg.com, or e-mail trent@loostales.com.