horse-mastLike A Lamb To The Slaughter
The American Holocaust Against The Animals - Article Series From The Caring Heart with Dr. Joyce from Spokane Washington

“He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)

Jesus has traditionally been called the “lamb of God” who taketh away our sins through the sacrifice of His life upon the cross. He was like a lamb because He was gentle and kind. He was like a lamb because He was perfect, as were the lambs thought worthy of sacrifice by the Hebrews. He was like a lamb because He did not cry out or object to His being cruelly killed. The ancient Hebrews sacrificed many thousands or millions of beautiful lambs to appease their God Yahweh. The prophet Isaiah was very much against animal sacrifice, maintaining that the Father God wants obedience, not sacrifice. We humans are still sacrificing lambs by the millions today, not to please our God, but to please ourselves.

Sheep were one of the first animals to be reared by humans, going back 10,000 years, for their milk and their meat. They originally came from wild sheep. Young lamb’s meat is preferred, but the meat of older sheep is also used, called mutton. Sheep are intelligent, gentle, playful creatures who hurt no one. After birth, lambs are very independent and form strong bonds with their ewes. Sheep can recognize their herd mates, even after being separated for years. They are nervous, easily frightened animals who, as prey, are totally unable to defend themselves against predators, such as wolves. So, they band close to each other for safety and comfort. They have a “flight zone,” which is the distance they keep away from a potential threat such as a human or a dog.

In the United States, 2.2 million sheep and lambs are reported to be slaughtered each year for meat, skin, and fibers for textiles. But. USDA reported 5 million sheep and lambs slaughtered in 2014. Australia, too, raises and slaughters an incredible number of these animals each year. Other sheep body parts are used to make diverse types of products, such as glue, gelatin, lanolin, surgical sutures, strings for musical instruments, and tennis racquets. Huge numbers are slaughtered for kosher meat, using halal slaughter methods, often without any stunning of the animal at all – very brutal. The making of Karakul coats is brutal in the extreme. To get the very softest fur, lambs are killed right out of the womb, or are aborted 15 days before birth, through miscarriages, induced early delivery, or killing the ewe by slicing her uterus open and pulling out the fetus. Horror to the max!

The ewes are kept pregnant to produce as many lambs per year as possible, 3 or 4 a year. After birth, lambs are only allowed one feeding from their moms before being taken away. To keep fecal matter from building up under the tail, lambs’ tails are usually docked while very young by cutting them off, or by putting a rubber band around them tightly so the tails dry up and fall off. Either method is chronically painful and can cause rectal prolapse. Lambs are usually slaughtered when six to eight months old. Lambs and sheep experience terrible, inhumane treatment throughout their lives.

Sheep have been bred to produce more wool. They are shorn once a year, unfortunately usually in the middle of the winter with no concern for their comfort. They are usually kept outdoors so are at the mercy of the weather, whatever is going on. One million lambs die of exposure within days of birth. In fact, at the taxpayer funded US Meat Animal Research Center, sheep are caused to suffer and to die to supposedly create more profitable sheep. Lambs are purposely left outside unattended to fend for themselves, under the assumption that the lambs that survived would produce stronger, “easy care” sheep. (What human monsters could do such?!) Indoor housing is reserved for lambing, for fattening of some lambs, and for milking sheep.

Because sheep have been bred to produce more wool, some die of heat exhaustion in hot months. Also, flies are attracted to the hot, moist wool, so they lay their eggs in the folds of the skin, The fly maggots hatch and literally eat the sheep alive, which is called “flystroke.” To deal with flystroke, Australian sheep ranchers execute “mulesing,” which involves cutting off huge strips of skin and flesh off the backs of the legs and the skin around the tails. The pain to the sheep must be absolutely excruciating! The open wounds can still harbor fly eggs. Pain, discomfort, and weight loss can last from 2 to 14 days. Finally, scar tissue forms with no wool on it so there are no areas for flies to lay their eggs on.

Reportedly, there is much death and disease in the wool industry. Sheep health and welfare issues include mutilations, lameness, disease, and transport discomfort and injury. Suffering is by the millions on factory farms and in laboratories, with inhumane treatment throughout their lives.
Sheeps’ wool production declines with age, until they are finally slaughtered by having their throats slashed, fully conscious. What a despicable reward for having served humans gently throughout all their lives!

Shame on people for their callous, atrocious treatment of such gentle, intelligent, innocent, marvelous, precious ones! Sheep were present for Lord Jesus’ birth. We need to continue to pray that humans will change and treat them with all the love in the world. We can also help by not purchasing any garments made of wool, or any other product made from sheeps’ parts, or any lamb or mutton to eat.

Copyright - Dr. Joyce 2017 - The Caring Heart

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