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Who Is an “Animal Abuser”?
An interesting feature of the animal welfare approach is that it depends on arbitrarily labeling some conduct affecting animals as “abuse” so that the vast majority of people who participate directly in other animal exploitation can feel good about themselves as they eat, wear, and otherwise use animals while condemning the “abuser.”
A recent example of this is found in the new bill pending before Parliament in Britain that will impose “tougher prison sentences for the worst animal abusers” and impose sentences of “up to five years in prison, a significant increase from the current maximum sentence of six months.” This will, we are told, strengthen “the UK’s position as a global leader on animal welfare.” The bill is being praised by none other than the RSPCA’s Chief Executive, Chris Sherwood, who is quoted as saying:
This reform is long overdue. Those responsible for extreme cruelty towards animals or those criminal gangs involved in organised animal crime will now face the tough justice they deserve.
We need to better protect our animals and the RSPCA hopes that this new Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill will give courts the powers they need to punish those responsible for the most unimaginable cruelty to animals.
We also believe this will act as a much stronger deterrent to others and help us stamp out animal cruelty once and for all.
Think about this for a minute.
The reality is that the treatment that is accorded to farm animals across the U.K and in the hideous slaughterhouses where virtually all of these animals end their lives, is just as bad if not worse than the treatment that the RSPCA has in mind for prosecution under the proposed new law.
The RSPCA has its own line of “higher welfare” animal products — the RSPCA Assured label — that takes the place of its previous “happy exploitation” label, “Freedom Food.” According to the RSPCA, its RSPCA Assured program guarantees that farm animals have a “good life” and are “treated with compassion and respect.”
