animal_cruelty
From a few cases in Wuhan, China to a full-blown pandemic around the globe, Covid – 19 hit the world unexpectedly and violently. There were thousands of deaths already just at the beginning of the pandemic. Then we didn’t even have a vaccine, so the number of deaths caused was unimaginable. And when we did create one, it mutated. It kept on this cycle of seemingly never-ending mutation. However, near the end of 2022, when we had thought we had almost eradicated the virus, just a couple of months later following 2023, the virus surged. In my country, cases in India went up. In fact, on April 4th, 2023, there have been thousands of confirmed cases of Covid – 19. It’s just pure chaos, to be honest. However, now we all know the cause of Covid -19. Covid – 19 is a zoonotic disease, which means it originated in animals and made the leap to humans. And the answer comes from where it originated in the first place. However, the first Covid cases were found in workers and customers of the Wuhan meat market. They sell a wide range of exotic animal foods there. This means Covid – 19 happened because of our addiction to turning animals like pigs, chickens, goats, etc. into food.
So how did this exactly play out? There are slaughterhouses all over the world. And there are a lot of people who eat meat. So I am not surprised with how much Covid has spread considering how many slaughterhouses we have and how many people eat meat. Okay, but how is using animals for food causing worldwide pandemics like Covid? Well, 99.9 % of the world’s slaughterhouses operate by putting many animals in cramped cages, they are stressed. They have no access to sunlight, and no fresh air. They cannot exercise and the hygiene conditions are terrible. Put all this together and you get a safe haven for infectious diseases. It’s a breeding ground for thousands of different types of infectious and zoonotic diseases. If kept in these conditions, animals become “natural reservoirs” for these diseases. And that’s what likely happened with Covid – 19.
We managed to figure this out and yet there has been no change yet. Animals raised for food are still kept in these conditions, which is why the world is still suffering from Covid – 19. That is why the Covid cases soared around the world because we haven’t done anything to prevent it. We do have a vaccine. Nevertheless, every doctor you see will tell you ‘Prevention is better than cure!’ Instead of encouraging people to become vegan and continue supporting scientists who make meat from plants, we just started to kill any infected animals. Imagine if we began to kill all people who were infected with zoonotic diseases. That is what we’re doing here. Not only is it a violation of animal rights but it doesn’t even work. The number of cases doesn’t even decrease slightly. It’s just horrible, that’s really messed up.
It is easy to feel hopeless in such situations; I will be honest with you guys. I actually don’t have any good news. However, what I can tell you is that we cannot give up. The lives of millions of innocent animals depend on it. Nations all around the world have to take this more seriously, we have to encourage people to be vegan by letting them know about this. In addition, we need to support and fund the scientists that are trying to make meat from plants or plant cells to be precise. We just have to do better and keep fighting. Fighting against the exploitation and neglect of animals, no matter what. And one day, if we keep fighting there’s going to be a miracle for the animals that need kindness, they will have freedom, happiness, and a life worth living. But until that day comes, we cannot give in. It’s time for us humans to stop making excuses and start making changes.
