General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: When ideals collide... porn vs. feminism [View all]Tumbulu
(6,630 posts)Are we to stop TRYING to improve the life of people and animals?
Just fyi, rams can kill each other by butting heads too much, or can kill people by knocking them down and trampling them. My border collie has saved me three times from being pummeled by rams who decided to knock me down and stomp all over me. They have to be kept separated from the flock and handled carefully. Normally ram lambs are castrated early and then at maybe 6-8 months of age sent to be made into meat. My sheep are wool producers and because of this the rams (if castrated) can live long lives (8-11 years is normal for this breed) with the ewes in the regular pastures and are safe to be around. The ramming, butting heads, knocking people down and stomping on them behavior goes away, in general, with the reduction in testosterone. So the choice is between castrating them and having a long life, or making them into meat. A few get to stay rams, but I generally pick the ones with the nicest temperaments (not the ones knocking all the old sheep down) to keep as rams. I don't like taking them to the slaughterhouse, it is upsetting even when they are the meanest ones, and the amount of meat from a wool breed sheep is not even economical. Hence the search for a humane way to do this awful task.
But isn't this what we expect each others as liberals to do? Look for ways to make the world safer, more humane, more respectful of all of life?