Billy the cow

News from Farm Sanctuary:

He had only been in this world one day, but it was about to be his last. Billy, one of many male calves born into the dairy industry and considered worthless, was about to receive a fatal hammer blow to the head when a Truxton, New York man, Larry, impulsively intervened. Shocked by the brutality of what he saw, Larry decided to spare this tiny calf a painful death by persuading the farmer to let him take Billy home.

So home Billy went, yet while Larry did not wish to see the calf killed in such a horrific way, he still intended to have him slaughtered for meat once he had grown up. Sale negotiations were made and a buyer lined up. However, as Larry cared for Billy over the next eight months, something changed: he began to realize that Billy was not just a mere commodity but an individual capable of experiencing pain, pleasure and friendship just like us. No longer wanting to see his new friend be killed for food, Larry began researching alternative options for Billy.

That’s where Farm Sanctuary came in. Knowing that his backyard shed was not the most appropriate place for a calf during the winter, Larry got in touch with our National Shelter Director Susie Coston. After making the necessary travel arrangements, Billy arrived safely at our New York Shelter in early January. Here, he was given expert veterinary attention and has since gained a healthy amount of weight.

Our caregivers instantly opened their hearts to Billy: playful, affectionate and determined to make as many friends as possible, he is known to follow the shelter workers right to the end of the pasture as they leave the barn – as if guilt tripping them into letting him join them! His overtly friendly nature is perhaps best epitomized by one of his favorite pastimes: giving kisses. He currently resides in a section of our Rescue and Rehabilitation Center with two pigs, both of whom he appears quite enamored with as well. Life has certainly taken a dramatic turn for this sweet boy, and we are truly grateful for the change of heart that brought him to our door.

A sledgehammer. Fuck. People are so twisted and heartless, at a biological level. I cannot wait for the end of us.

Look at how loving and playful he is. Why would anyone wish harm upon such a beautiful creature? Because he is not profitable? Even for food, it simply cannot be justified beyond "I like how it tastes."

On a happy note, Billy is forever safe. No one will swing a hammer at him, nor will they be able to. He is so fortunate to be able to live out all the rest of his life in peace around many other animals like him, in the care of people who love him and respect his life and sentience.

We suffer so that you may acquire "knowledge"

which you then immediately discard, thinking "That's interesting."

Research/torture/confinement/starvation for its own sake. Science. Progress.

One monkey is on a calorie restricted diet, the other is not. Both look profoundly sad and forlorn.

Sick, sadistic fucks pursuing useless information. Wanna see what their conclusions are and what they may mean?

Few people can keep to a diet with 30 percent fewer calories than usual. So
biologists have been looking for drugs that might mimic the effects of caloric
restriction, conferring the gain without the pain.

Dietary restriction seems to set off an ancient strategy written into all
animal genomes, that when food is scarce resources should be switched to tissue
maintenance from breeding. In recent years biologists have had considerable
success in identifying the mechanisms by which cells detect the level of
nutrients available to the body. The goal is to find drugs that trick these
mechanisms into thinking that famine is at hand. People could then literally
have their cake and eat it, too, enjoying the health benefits of caloric
restriction without the pain of forgoing rich foods.

Brilliant, simply fucking brilliant. Let's do this "experiment" with premises that are virtually untenable in real life, and then maybe we can make some drugs to fuck with biology a little more. The outcomes are fantastic - drug companies get rich, people (really just Americans and those who have enough money and resources to emulate them) can still be the fat, undiscerning fucks that they are and be able to do so much longer, world population will increase as life spans do the same, and we will burn out the planet at ever greater speeds.

Thanks science. Thanks for continually pressing on, undeterred, to find the maximum fucking velocity at which to hurtle towards hell.