Future Vets R Us

You wouldn't believe how hard it was to come up with a URL that at least sounded like what I wanted it to say. That's what you get when you arrive late to the party.

So. I'm a first year vet student leaning toward small animal practice, but I'm going to school in Ames, IA which means there's a fairly high percentage of large animal kids. There is a distinct difference in thoughts on the role of animals in those two groups. It especially comes out in our ethics class discussing animal welfare.


For example, veal calves. This is an incendiary issue to say the least. If you check out this pic, that poor baby with his doe eyes is in a small crate so he cannot move around, and his neck is chained to keep him in place. Allow me to flat-out state that I am completely against veal production. These animals have to be kept still to inhibit muscle development and are also kept anemic to aid in keeping the meat oh so tender. From a welfare perspective, they are not living a "natural" life, they are under mental duress, and their physical condition is also compromised. The problem is, these are generally the male calves of dairy cattle, which have to keep producing offspring to produce milk. As an avid milk-drinker, I can't advocate cutting production of these little guys--not because I would have less milk to drink, but because it would kill an industry. There are plenty of welfare issues in the dairy industry as well, but we're not getting into that. I'm not educated enough in the cattle industry to know for sure, but I don't think there are a lot of other options for these guys. So I'm against veal production but I can't offer a realistic solution that wouldn't have spreading consequences, and a good portion of the class eats veal and sees no problem at all (some of them have even raised the buggers).

The more I learn, the less I understand. And somehow we're supposed to be the people to explain animal welfare to others?

To end on a lighter note, I made my friend K laugh yesterday in Anatomy lab when we were working on our goat Snowball. I looked at him and said "If reincarnation does exist, some people deserve to come back as Anatomy goats." And it's true. If you screwed up your life as a person and came back as a goat that would be disappointment enough, but to then end up living for only a year or two before being euthanized and preserved so people can tear you apart would just suck. I'm not naming names, but you people know who you are.

Happy Friday, people.


Mood: confused
Music: Superhero - Stephen Lynch