Dec15
In Memoriam: Virgil Butler
Posted at 03:15 PM |
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Virgil Butler, the former slaughterhouse worker from Arkansas who dedicated his life to educating others about the horrors of factory farming, died last night in his sleep at the age of 41. Virgil spent 9 years working in Tyson slaughterhouses, killing as many as 80,000 birds a shift in extremely dangerous working conditions and for very little pay. But in 2002, Virgil contacted PETA to say that he had had enough of the human and animal suffering that he witnessed every day, and asked what he could do to help. Discussing his and his wife's feelings at the time, he said,
What I have seen was horrible enough that we had quit eating chicken. When we researched a bit we found out that the poultry business is no worse than any other part of factory farming. Now we don't eat any meat at all. We also spend a part of each day in the fight against factory farming.
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For the next four years, Virgil played David to the poultry industry's Goliath with courage, resourcefulness, and a limitless supply of patience and good humor. He gave news conferences about his experiences, spoke forcefully about animal and human rights issues on his blog, The Cyberactivist, and inspired thousands of people to make changes in their lives based on his own compassionate example. His legacy is one of kindness, hope, and perseverance, and his loss is very deeply felt.
Another story. Humans
kill and injure an untold number of animals to make
clothing, car seats, toys, pillows, and other
products. Animals who die for our clothing include
cows, pigs, rabbits, coyotes, ostriches, and
rattlesnakes.
There are, of course, alternatives. RMAD supports
synthetic fabrics and cotton, especially organic
cotton.
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FAQ
Animals as Clothing/Commodity
Cow skins are used for any number of items sold on
the market, the most common of which are belts,
shoes, handbags, and wallets. The leather made from
a cow¹s skin is roughly equal in value to the flesh
of that cow, which means leather is not a byproduct.
The miserable factory farm conditions behind a steak
are also behind a leather wallet. As a rule these
animals suffer extreme crowding and confinement,
unanesthetized castration, branding, tail-docking
and de-horning, and cruel treatment during transport
and slaughter. The pelts of fur-bearing animals are
used primarily for coats, though scraps may be used
for cat toys. Some fur stores, in what must be
viewed by rational minds as obscene, peddle stuffed
animals such as teddy bears made from the skins of
live animals such as minks.
Silkworms suffer agonizing deaths to feed the market
for silk ties, silk underwear, and silk sheets.
Wool sweaters and blankets are not nearly so benign
as they appear. The shearing process is rife with
injury. Poorly timed shearing leads many sheep to
die of exposure. Most sheep are raised in Australia.
When sheep age and their productivity decreases,
they are transported long distance to
slaughterhouses in trucks and trains without food or
water. Many million are sent alive to the Middle
East every year where they are killed in ritual
slaughter.