Farm Kid Testimonies: "You get used to it."

How agricultural programs such as the 4-H and FFA can be a traumatizing experience for children.

(An excerpt from the PBS special, "The Emotional World of Farm Animals", the DVD of which can be purchased here: http://www.animalplace.org/apvideo.html)

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• children
• kids
• farms
• farming
• agriculture
• 4H
• FFA
• animals
• cruelty
• meat
• dairy
• eggs
• vegan
• animal
• rights

[melrappmel]

i just finish my first year in fair and i sold my pen of 2 market ducks and so did my sister we got them back but i dont think i would have missed mine its hard raising them and my freind alex got a steer for the first year and she had no problems getting rid of it they only love you for food and they can be quite stubbourn

[TheUnsilenced]

There will be some children who are comfortable with getting rid of their animals. However, often times, there is a numbing process that children are pressured to go through by adults, and they are influenced to do something they ordinarily would feel uncomfortable about doing. Children have to be taught that animals are expendable; its not something they decide on their own. As for animals sometimes being stubborn, that just goes to show that they are beings with wills of their own.

[TheUnsilenced]

If you view animals as commodities, as things to make a profit off of, & have no other interaction with them except when you feed them, of course they'll only view you as a food source. If, on the only hand, you treat them as individuals with interests, & respect those interests, interact with them (as people do with dogs & cats), then they will view you as a friend as well as a caretaker.

[dovad16]

I once raised registered dairy goats. I was told that in order to show them or market them successfully they had to be dehorned. This must be done when the kid is 2 weeks old. Caustic soda in put on its head where the "button" will grow. The first one cried exactly like a human baby and got my hand wet with his tears. That ended my goat venture. I couldn't do it. I just let them enjoy the free room and board from then on out.

[OneAnnoyedVegan]

Unbelievable... thanks for posting.

[AnimalLeftist]

"i had no feelings for my animals".

Yeah. That's scary.

[coolclarinet54]

how did he end up getting sold if he wasnt suppose to??

he was very cute

[meow98]

So moving, I almost cried. I never thought about all this. Thank you.

[TheOmegaMan1976]

@dovad16 That's why we use Lidocaine to numb the area before we dehorn on our calves, the American Veterinary Medical Association may not be the law, but they are what a lot of farmers follow.

[MaxxHerps]

@54vegan

I eat meat. I don't have a problem with vegetarians. I have a problem with vegetarians complaining about meat eaters, and telling us we are not men. So you can just sit here and cry about other people saying crap about you, and then you turn around and do the same thing. get some common sense... don't talk until you understand what YOU are saying. Hypocrite.....

[MaxxHerps]

this video is so stupid! you have to be kidding me! Quit yer crying and grow some balls! FFA is an amazing organization. You need animal meat for life! You learn that the importance of agriculture is a big time needed thing! If you're going to cry over a damn cow, you don't need to be raising them! Obvioulsy cows are raised to be slaughtered for meat. Without meat you don't get some essential vitamins and such. I'll be damned if someone sits here and tries to tell me FFA is a traumatizing thing.

[AP3127]

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!! I was/am heavily involved in 4H and FFA raising multiple market/breeding animals. If you cant grasp the concept of raising animals for food then dont raise them at all. For the millions of kids involved in 4H and FFA today raising livestock, They will have a far better appreciation for where their food comes. It take alot of hard work to put food on the table and I am proud to have been/be a part of livestock production and wouldnt have it any other way!

[burger1ish]

what are they saying i rasied market animals all four years that i was in the FFA and yes you get a littel attached but i made money off of all of my market animals that i am using for school i cryed on my first animal but i did not cry after that i had some of the best times that i ever had in my life raseing my market animals and have so much fun at the county fair it is just fun i had no feelings for my animals i new what i was selling them for and whata was going to happen to them

[exquisite6]

@Mcphlange You are even more PATHETIC for calling someone a twat

[Mcphlange]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA SHUT THE FUCK UP :L u pathetic vegan twat