They Depend On Us...
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Robert Grillo, Free From Harm
October 2014

At that very moment, I realized just how utterly dependent farmed animals like Bethany are on us for every single thing they need to survive...And, at any point in time in their lives, if we neglect or choose not to provide them with any one of the above, it could very well be a matter of life and death for them.

As I drove Bethany (our latest hen rescue) to her new forever home on Sunday, I often looked back at her where she was quietly crouched down inside of the carrier, and I saw her eyes peering out at me through the small vents. Her expression was one of searching for answers and clarity in a world that must seem very confusing, unstable, uncertain.

After all, in the course of just one week, her original owner had transported her around in a box and left the box and her at the entrance of an animal hospital. She was then transferred to a nearby avian hospital to be examined, then to a shelter and then to my home.

At that very moment, I realized just how utterly dependent farmed animals like Bethany are on us for every single thing they need to survive.

• They depend on us for food so as not to starve;
• they depend on us for water so as not to dehydrate;
• they depend on us for shelter so as not to fall prey;
• they depend on us to create an artificial environment for them that is safe so as not to fall victim to floods, extremes of heat, cold and inclement weather, fire, and toxins;
• they depend on us for medical attention so as not to become sick;
• they depend on us for kindness so as to spare them unnecessary suffering;
• they depend on us for respect so that we might understand that their lives mean everything to them.

And, at any point in time in their lives, if we neglect or choose not to provide them with any one of the above, it could very well be a matter of life and death for them. The farming industry has intentionally bred them into this world to be servile, vulnerable and dependent on us. As their caretakers — those of us trying to give back to them rather than continue the cycle of taking from them — we must always strive to imagine how the world would suddenly look to us, if it were ourselves in their position, and treat them accordingly.

A big part of the reason I founded Free from Harm was to fund rescue work — the amazing opportunity to learn about farmed animals as the individuals they truly are and then broadcast their life stories “virtually” through images, video and words. This storytelling advocacy is one of our most powerful and effective tools for re-awakening people’s empathy for animals.

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