Do you think the instantaneous death of an animal during slaughter is less painful than from natural causes?

Question

(I don't include the barbarity of halal and kosher ritual slaughtering)

Answer 1

Animals in the wild invariably die violent and/or painful deaths; whether at the hands of other animals, disease or accidents. An animal in the wild will never die of old age, unless you include in that bracket being picked out as an easy target by other animals due to old age. The most natural death an animal can hope for is disease, which I hasten to add is another thing better about domestication, due to high quality veterinary care.
Also, when an animal kills another it is never instant. Some animals, like hyenas, eat their prey alive, even when it is something so large as a gazelle. Other animals use strangulation or disembowelment, but nothing so painless as a quick bolt through the brain.

Answer 2

In many cases it probably is. In the wild most animals similar to the types that we would eat for food would be killed by large carnivores... at the very least there would be a chase followed by injuries and death. Few predators are so adept at dispatching their prey that you could safely say that they knew nothing about it.

Few animals in the wild get to live into old age and so it is with farmed animals but in the wild animals may be subjected to disease, parasites, failed attacks by predators, periods of severe hunger or thirst and other stress-causing situations which are largely unknown to farmed animals. The image of animals in the wild living long, happy care-free lives belongs more to Hollywood and Disney than to reality and places in them emotions which only belong to humans. Perhaps some of the dewey-eyed vegetarians have never seen a pack of African Hunting Dogs rip the guts out of an animal while it's still running.

Many slaughterhouses either kill or stun the animal instantaneously so that they feel virtually nothing other than perhaps a few second's apprehension.

If I was an animal then I would choose and nice peaceful cared-for life on a farm rather than a life in the wild any day.

Halal and Kosher slaughtering involves cutting the throat of the animal so that it, in effect, bleeds to death. This may indeed seem barbaric but actually causes the animal surprisingly little distress - the knives must be incredibly sharp and the area of the neck is relatively insensitive to a sharp blade: as far as the animal is concerned it becomes progressively more drowsy from loss of blood until it passes into a coma and dies... there is no real pain involved and only minimal distress to the animal.

Answer 3

All I have to say is, the pain the animal suffers until that quick death which is often horribly painful is probably worse than anything that they would endure in the wild. Read some of what Henry Stephens Salt has to say.

Answer 4

You could also ask if murdering someone at 35 is more humane than letting them live happily into their old age and dying of multiple organ failure. It's probably a more pleasant death and not dragged out, but it would be considered unacceptable to pen up hundreds of children in cramped cages, living in their own excrement without any sunlight, can't even move or lie down properly, fattening them on a diet consisting of cheap food and human brains and guts, filling them with antibiotics so they don't all die of disease, and then kill them as soon as they reached adulthood (say 21?). Maybe the death itself could be worse, but that doesn't make the process acceptable.

Answer 5

It could be, yes. But different animals are killed in different ways. And there is bias to how exactly animals are killed. PETA makes it out like they are tortured just for the fun of it, which is not true. Their heads are chopped off, which could be painful, but dying of diseases could drag on forever, while getting your head chopped off lasts a couple seconds, then the animal is dead. Unless you're a chicken. Then you run around for a few seconds but you don't feel pain because your brain isn't connected to your body. Also, killing animals is natural and cows and pigs and such are raised to be killed. They are not happy little fairy tale animals running around in a pasture. They are in a tiny cage their whole lives and they are probably happy to go to heaven than be stuck in there.

OH AND REDDOLPHY: WHO ARE WE TO TAKE THE LIFE OF AN ANIMAL? HA! YOU MUST BE REALLY IGNORANT. WE ARE HUMANS. THAT'S WHO WE ARE. WE EAT ANIMALS. WE ARE THE TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN. WITHOUT ANIMALS, WE LACK ALL THE VITAMINS WE NEED. ANIMALS ARE ON THE EARTH SO WE CAN EAT THEM; THEY'RE PART OF THE FOOD CHAIN. IT'S THE CIRCLE OF LIFE. I SUGGEST YOU WATCH THE LION KING; IT MIGHT GIVE YOU SOME PERSPECTIVE OF HOW LIFE WORKS. WE EAT WHAT WE CAN. WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO KILL IT IF IT MEANS KEEPING US ALIVE.

Answer 6

Okay, so if we're talking about animals that are slaughtered for food, then we're probably excluding wild animals that are attacked and killed by predators. Most animals killed for food are domesticated and have no natural enemies besides man.

These domesticated animals can live very long lives and if cared for properly, die from natural causes much like their human counterparts.

Unfortunately, slaughterhouses have very little regulation (since few people really care about the suffering of farmed animals - since that means they are beings capable of pain and feeling) and the animals rarely die instantly. I have seen horrible video of animals treated appalingly and allowed to suffer horribly in slaughterhouses. Don't fool yourself that animals are better off dying for your taste buds than they would be if allowed to live their lives.

Would you rather die from natural causes or have your head cut off? I think we all would choose a long life with a natural death (even painful) over a short life with a dramatic (even painless) ending.

Answer 7

Well it would be the same as if it was you in the animal place.
Yes I do . The animal know something is going on it, new out of its route way of life and they can hear danger from all other ones in front of them, if they in a line be butchered.

Answer 8

It's probably less painful, but nevertheless, it's better for an animal to die of natural causes than to be abused and tortured before dying a quick death.

Answer 9

whether or not there is pain or not, they don't have to lay around and suffer from the pain like they would from natural causes. Would you rather die a slow agonizing death from natural causes, or a quick one that only takes a few minutes

Answer 10

Absolutely. Sadly, having recently had to put our kitty 'to sleep' as he had Vaccine Induced Sarcoma (cancer)....we stayed with him and the vet was great in helping us understand the process. Essentially the injection they uses 'relaxes' the pet considerably and they simply go to sleep.

Whereas, a year ago my MIL was hospitalized following almost 10 years of a terminal illness. Her suffering in intensive care the last four weeks of her life was considered 'natural'. 'Natural' lacked comfort and dignity in our case.

When we had to put our Kitty down...my 87 y/o Grandmother was quick to point out that we were helping him pass w/ dignity...and we were honoring him and his memory in our family.

Hope this is helpful...