CEJA 1

Kassandra Ceja
Linda Haas
Writing 37
January 28, 2015
Cowlaughter
The consumption of meat has always been controversial and
many arguments have always been proposed. Many people tend to
look at the health issues of it and debate on whether it is good for a
persons body or whether it is causing them harm. Then we have
another argument, which involves people whom think about meat
consumption from a completely different perspective, the cows. Cow
slaughter and its process has always been a reason to why some might
choose on whether or not to consume meat. It is not pleasant in any
way what so ever for the cows. The effects begin during the preslaughter handling and transportation, as Veterinary Sciences
mentions, the pre-care of the cattle is filled with stress, which only
leads to the quality of meat and the animal welfare. (Vet. Sci 2014) A
very significant amount of cattle are being affected just like P.D.
Warriss, author of Meat Sciences acknowledges, Almost all cattle are
eventually slaughtered for meat (P.D. Warriss 1990) Cattles are not
only affected during the slaughtering process but they are put into
uncomfortable situations from the day they are born. To mark cows for
identification, ranchers restrain the animals and press hot fire irons

2 Ceja
into their flesh, causing third-degree burns, as cows bellow in pain and
attempt to escape. (PETA 2015). As professor Shraddha Cjigateri, from
the University of Warwick, mentions cow slaughter to be a moral and
how it is in the process of leading to prohibitions and restrictions on
cow slaughtering across a numerous amount of states. (Chigateri
2011)
Many people are unaware of the slaughtering process. The steps
to prepare cattle to go into slaughter are cruel. The male calves have
their testicles ripped off, the horns of the cows, which are meant for
beef, are either burned or cut. (PETA 2015) To only make it worst the
processes are done without the assent of any pain -killers. Slaughtering
plants are becoming larger and this prevents the formation of many
plants, only a few number of plants exist. This increases marketing
extensively for animals sold through actions. (P.D. Warriss 1990) Due to
the high demand the cows are put through an unnatural diet in order
for them to gain weight, this only causes the cows to have chronic
digestive pain, which is compared to a bad case of gastritis that would
not go away. It does not stop there this only leads to compression of
lungs due to the gas and many other health problems like an increase
of stomach acid and then the acid make problem constructs ulcers
which could kill they cow due to blood rushes. (PETA 2015) Cows are
not only affected internally by their diets but they are also affected
behaviorally since most of the drugs they are given impair them. (P.D.

CEJA 3
Warriss 1990) Overall, both PETA and Warriss show similar attributes to
how they feel towards cow slaughter.
Transporting the cattle was one of the crucial steps of slaughter. The
cattle went through situations that effected meat quality and their
welfare. Cows dealt with exaggerating temperatures, aggression,
hunger thirst and pain. (Vet. Sci. 2014) Even though cattle are animals
it is sometimes forgotten that they are beings and are capable of
feeling stress and pain, which should make certain conditions
considerable. (Vet. Sci. 2014) It is difficult to see cows as beings
juridicaldiscourseoncowslaughter,supposedlybasedonaneconomicandecological
understandingofthe
usevalueofcowsinapredominantlyagrarianeconomytheyarejustanimalsthathelp
theeconomyevolve.(Chigateri2011) Veterinary Sciences and Chigateri share
the understanding of the cruelty cattle encounter but Veterinary
Sciences is not against the production of meat as long as it is done in a
proper way.
Cow slaughtering is extremely cruel, meat is an essential for
some in our economy and required changes should be made. Although
production numbers will remain large there should regulations need to
occur. Out of the 500 carcasses assessed for bruising, 18% had no bruises, 60% had
slight bruises while 22% had severe bruises. Ninety (90) non-ambulatory cattle were
slaughtered within seven (7) days, representing 7.1% of the total number of cattle
slaughtered within that period.

4 Ceja

Work Cited
Chigateri,Shraddha."NegotiatingtheSacredCow:CowSlaughterandtheRegulation
ofDifferenceinIndia."(2011):13738.Web.30Jan.2015.
Frimpong,Samuel,GirmaGebresenbet,EmmanuelBobobee,EliasD.Aklaku,and
IbrahimHamdu."EffectofTransportationandPreSlaughterHandlingonWelfareand
MeatQualityofCattle:CaseStudyofKumasiAbattoir,Ghana."1(2014):17491.
"TheBeefIndustry."PETA.N.p.,n.d.Web.30Jan.2015.
Warriss,P.D."TheHandlingofCattlePreslaughterandItsEffectsonCarcassandMeat
Quality."28.12(1990):17186.

CEJA 5

There has always been a myriad of disagreements to why a count of

people may choose not to consume meat; scholars and experts explain
why cow slaughter and its effects might contribute to the consumer's
choice.
Although, many people may think they have an idea of how the
slaughtering process works, they might not know the whole truth. The
steps taken to prepare a cattle for slaughter are very cruel. For
example, the male calves have their testicles ripped off and the horns
of the cows, which are meant for beef, are either burned or cut (PETA
2015). This sequence of events is painful and as stated by PETA, the
process is done without any type of painkillers. Slaughtering plants are
becoming larger and this prevents the formation of many small plants,
which only lets a few exist. This increases marketing extensively for
animals sold through actions. (P.D. Warriss 1990) Due to high demand,
the cows are subjected through an unnatural diet in order for them to
gain weight. These causes provoke cows to have chronic digestive
pain, which is compared to a bad case of gastritis that would not
dissipate. The process does not stop there, this only leads to
compression of the lungs due to the gas and many other health
problems like an increase of stomach acid which then could construct
ulcers, that have a possibility of killing the cow due to blood rushes.
(PETA 2015) Cows are not only affected internally by their diets; they
are also affected by possessing neurotic changes within their behavior
(P.D. Warriss 1990) Overall, both PETA and Warriss show similar
attributes to how they feel towards cow slaughter just as Chigateri and
Vet. Sciences due about the transportation of the cattle.