Issue date: 2/7/08 Section: Editorial/Opinion

I consider myself lucky enough to have been raised in a family that had at least a handful of pets running around our house at any given time. Currently, I am the proud owner of two dogs, two turtles two cockatiels, and a cat. Living with all of these different creatures and putting up with both their charms and drawbacks has taught me to have a great deal of respect for animals. I consider all my pets to be part of the family and mourn as such when their all too short lives come to an end.

My upbringing contributed to how disgusted I was upon seeing the Humane Society's undercover video of workers at the Hallmark Meat Packing Co. beating, kicking and even running fork lifts into sick and injured dairy cows. The video, released on Jan. 30, shows workers administering electric shocks and jabbing the eyes of "downed" cows - those too sick or injured to walk - attempting to make them move into the slaughterhouse. Hallmark, based in Chino, Calif., said it has fired two employees seen in the video already and has suspended their supervisor.

But there has been no national uproar about these workers and their actions. How quickly, do you remember, the entire country condemning Michael Vick once even the rumors of dogfighting surfaced? People called for Vick's head across the nation because of his disrespect for the lives his fighting dogs; but where are those people now that we have actual, definitive proof of animal cruelty? Why don't we hear them demanding jail time for these workers?

My guess is your answer to those questions is that these were just cattle, not dogs; they were meant to be slaughtered anyway. Vick's celebrity certainly played a part in the national outrage his crimes brought, but because he was fighting dogs instead of say, pigs, more anger was rained upon him. And that is absolutely not right.

The problem here is our nation's contradictory reaction to Vick's crimes and those of the Hallmark workers. It doesn't matter if it's a cow, a dog, a spider or a squirrel - every creature has been put on this planet as randomly (or as planned, depending on what you believe) as you or I. Their misfortune of being born as animals unable to communicate fully with us should not be an excuse for torture. Every animal contributing something to us - be it the companionship of a dog or the beef of a cow - should be treated with equal respect.

Practically speaking, of course, this type of treatment is deplorable because it's dangerous for the U.S. consumer. Forcing downed cows into the slaughterhouse put the schoolchildren (including those at elementary schools here in Eau Claire), needy families and the elderly Hallmark supplies beef to at a higher risk for E. coli, salmonella or mad cow disease. This is due to the dairy cows wallowing in feces and having weaker immune systems. The fact that these workers were putting people in danger makes their actions exponentially more despicable.

But even with this knowledge, the abuse at Hallmark has not sickened the nation the way Vick did. Dogs are our companions, of course; seeing animals similar to the ones we care for in our homes being forced to fight one another to the death certainly garners a strong reaction. Yet how different are dogs than cows, at least in terms of behavior? Cattle are social animals, preferring to live in groups, similar to dogs. Their intelligence and capability to be trained may be on average lower than a dogs', but that's not to say they couldn't be raised for companionship the same way we do with canines. Has it ever really been tried, I wonder?

The reason we don't normally consider a cow as a potential companion is because, of course, we eat them. I eat them, to tell you the truth, and I enjoy eating them. As anyone who has watched National Geographic knows, animals consume one another all the time, and we humans shouldn't be expected to be any different. But even though I would be adamant against abolishing beef products, I still understand these animals should be honored the same as any pet. If anything, they deserve more respect than your average household dog or cat.

We forcibly take their lives to continue our own - there really is no greater gift an animal can give us. A cow's death should be done as quickly and as painlessly as possible, not repulsively drawn out as the Hallmark workers did. Doing this when we slaughter them without the cattle's consent makes abusive treatment of them even more reprehensible. It shows such an astounding lack of appreciation for their sacrifice when people stab, beat and drag them before ending their lives.

Our nation's non-reaction to the Hallmark workers' cruelty displays our own disconnect with the lives of other living beings. We value some animals' lives more than others for poorly constructed reasons - perhaps this translates to humans in some respect? Does knowing that we're dropping bombs on people we'll never see or meet make the decision to go to war easier, just as not considering a cow a possible companion makes it easier to ignore abuse of it? There were a host of reasons why we went to war in Iraq, but if we had more respect for the life of every being on this planet, not just the ones we're familiar and friendly with, there may have been more of a resistance to the war march our president began.

I would never electrocute, stab or otherwise harm my dog Bear, a dairy cow or any other living creature. Every animal has a role to play, be it to feed us, be our companion or balance the natural food chain in some way. Lacking respect for their lives and what they contribute shows how far we have to go as the superior species on this planet.

Langton is a senior print journalism major and editorial editor of The Spectator. "What a Scoop!" appears every Thursday.

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