Apparently it Needs Said, Cattle Aren't Pets!
By Jen Hill
Livestock are not pets. You know it, I know it, but it appears that too many small producers fail to see the danger that turning cattle into pets presents to the agriculture industry.
On Facebook you can find a group for pretty much anything including dozens of cattle focused groups. There are general cattle, breed and sector specific groups out there, many of which are designed to give producers a place to market their operations, seek advice, and generally network with other ranchers. It seems they are also increasingly full of people giving “dog moms” a run for their money. In the last week I have seen posts from someone who had composed and recorded a song in tribute to their dead bull, sharing their anguish at his loss, a woman who called the vet in panic because her cow ate her placenta after calving, and videos of people cuddling and kissing a bull before turning him out with the cows. While I love that these groups allow for some levels of education, if you can trust any of the shady advice you see on there, I also worry that giving the impression that livestock are pets opens our industry up to animal rights activist’s claims.
Anthropomorphism, or attributing human characteristics like traits, emotions and even intentions to non-humans, is dangerous to the livestock industry. Animal rights radicals are constantly pushing the bar of accepted animal practices farther to the extremes. Years ago, their standard cry was “meat is murder” but in the last few years we’ve seen them go farther, attempting legislation that would declare artificial insemination equivalent to rape. When livestock producers take to social media with anthropomorphic heavy content, acting like their livestock are members of the family, they are fueling the animal rights activists and their claims that using these animals in a productive way to feed the multitudes is wrong. Those of us with kids have watched them name the bucket calves or show heifers and develop a care-giver level relationship with them that is different from the standard cow in the field. But our kids are raised with the reality that these animals are part of the food production cycle and they know how to process it. The general public seeing these posts on Facebook don’t have that background and may find themselves wondering how an animal with a cutesy name seen cuddling in the barn and worried over like a newborn baby can wind up on their grill. When livestock producers create posts making their cattle seem more like pets the average person begins to connect that cow to their dog, potentially leaving them more open to arguments from the PETA types.
There’s also a genetic argument for keeping livestock in the appropriate production category. High levels of “babying” these animals coupled with the excessive vet treatments are dangerous to the genetic pool. Animals that should have been processed at the first sign of trouble instead wind up with many extra years of procreation, letting those bad genetics pass around. Cows that don’t allow nursing, walk correctly, consistently bloat, produce twins or need meds thrown at them monthly (although whether or not those cattle actually needed meds may be up for discussion) should be removed from the genetic pool, not kept around because the owner thinks of the cow the same way they do the family cat. Producers with less than 20 head that have their vet on speed dial because they call at the first sign of hiccup are part of the problem. If your cattle actually require that level of veterinary intervention they belong on the rail, not in the breeding pasture.
As ranchers cattle play a central, pivotal role in our lives. It would be nonsense to pretend like we don’t occasionally develop a relationship with some of them. A unique cow might get a name. We might form an attachment to an old bull that’s been around and done well by us, and that’s ok. But we must think about the way we present these animals to the world, ensuring that we aren’t sending mixed messages about the purpose, role and value of these animals, otherwise we just make it easier for the enemy whose ultimate goal is to force feed us soybeans and see us all out of business.