Yeah, employees. Right.

[msmcknittington]

So, I just read this post on Ravelry, and my head nearly exploded. For those who can't go there, it's a thread about Australian wool being cruel because of mulesing. Here's the post:

If the climates and pest situations are so different, why are people raising sheep there in the first place if the environment isn’t suited to them? It’s like trying to start a massive pineapple farm in Canada and then building a gas-powered greenhouse to suit it. There are clearly better solutions.

Honestly, there are so many other great yarns out there to knit with that I could be a happy knitter for years without getting wool. I also know that for no reason should a small (or large) business have a right to cause unnecessary pain solely because of the bottom line, and operate my own animal-related business in the same manner. When you’re in this business, the animals are your employees and you have to treat them as such- benefits, vacations, and all.

Bolding mine, of course.

Yeah, 'cuz when you own your employees and they're considered property, it's called slavery. Vacations? What the fuck? You can't go, "Hey, Bossie! Enjoy your weekend! Hope you don't get mastitis!" Because livestock are not people. They never will be!

Stop anthropomorphizing, goddammit.

Comments

[jennnlee.livejournal.com]

Vacations? That's just awesome. I don't know, the thought of the sheep booking a long weekend to Key West because they "need to get away from work for a while" just cracks me up. Because it's so damn stupid.

It can be really easy to anthropomorphize animals, especially pets. I'm guilty of it all the time with my dogs. But I do also recognize that they're DOGS, and their needs/desires are much different than mine. And I'm ultimately responsible for their care, because in a lot of ways they can't do it themselves.

[msmcknittington.livejournal.com]

I know! I can't help but think that she's going to come back and say that the couple months every year that dairy cattle are dry is a vacation, and not, you know, an opportunity for them to get pregnant. Or that time that sheep spending growing a fleece is a vacation.

I'll get behind animals needing vacations just as soon as they start paying taxes.

[jennnlee.livejournal.com]

Hah! When Gambit takes up too much room on the bed and gives me the sad eyes when I shove him over, I tell him he can have more of the bed when he starts paying the mortgage. See what I mean about anthropomorphizing my pets? ;-)