Your Opinion: Things not always as perceived

Dear Editor:

It is so sad when people cannot distinguish between what is humane and what is cruel.

Unless you have had the opportunity to be in the shoes of those ranchers in Texas, I wouldn't be too quick to judge.

While we are blessed with plenty of large-animal veterinarians here in Mid-Missouri, that is not the case in other areas. Large animal vets are in short supply in ranching country and having one available to put down a cow (or cows) due to a disaster is probably not an option.

A pickax to the brain is not a customary form of euthanasia and was used in an extreme circumstance, but it is quicker and more effective than a bullet. There was no additional pain inflicted upon that animal, death was immediate.

I am not sure what Carleen Pietzmeyer's solution would have been, but I am sure that common sense would not have been a factor.

I guess the ranchers could have left the cattle die on their own, still suffering, while the buzzards picked their eyes out as they died. But they didn't. The reality is that they had the common sense and compassion to put them out of their misery.

There are groups in this country who want to shut down the livestock industry and convince you to quit eating meat. They are willing to lie, deceive and falsify information to poison your viewpoint. They take actions out of context and leave out the rest of the story. Honestly, if you believe everything that is posted on the Internet now days then you are not just naive but witless.

These groups want you to believe that the livestock industry as a whole is a cruel, cold-blooded, money hungry business. Things are not always as they are perceived. Sometimes the cruel act is the most humane thing that could be done.

I sure know that I'd like to be compassionate and put those groups out of their misery and I wouldn't use a pickax.

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