Why Cruelty Free?

There is no doubt we are an incredibly intelligent species, and with that we have established a permananet position at the top of the food chain. We have created tools to aid our skills, conquered every continent on our planet and yet we are still developing even further.

Our success means we have swelled in numbers, and now we completely dominate our world. Due to our huge and ever growing population we cannot sustain ourselves with normal hunting and foraging, we would end up in a barren landscape, all animals extinct and no vegetation remaining. So we have developed farming, the process of cultivating animals, funghi and plants to forfill our demands. Whilst farming plants and funghi causes no pain or cruelty, the use of animals for our benefit has a much more gruesome story.

We understand pain, we will mourn the loss of a child, we feel emotions and so do animals. Humans and animals suffer alike, so why do we treat them with such disrespect? What gives us the right to cause such cruelty?

The truth behind the meat

Many animals never see the light of day. Cows and pigs are stuffed into a tiny space so they can't even turn around. Chickens live in their thousands in one small barn, forced to stand in their own faeces and urine. To stop the animals from injuring one another in their cramped conditions cows have their horns visously burnt off, whilst chicken have the ends of their beaks seared off. They don't get the opportunity to exercise and their muscles waste away.

They are then genetically modified so they grow extremely fast, beyond their normal size and many can't even hold up their own body. They are forced to continuosly breed and their babies and torn away from them. They then have a gruesome fate in the slaughter house. Pigs are sent to slaughter at less than a year old, even though they can live beyond the age of 25. They are shoved and pushed into a crate where they will spend many hours on their way to the slaughter house. Many have their throats slit whilst they are still alive and suffer endlessly while they bleed to death.

Piglets by Daveybot

Fishy business

Fish suffer too. Those that are farmed are forced to live in cramped, dirty conditions, each fish is allocated only the space of its own body. They swim in their own excrement making disease, infection and parasites commonplace. Wild caught fish will struggle at the end of a hook, or squirm in a net or trap. As they are pulled up from the depths, the decompression makes their gills collapse, their eyes pop out and then they will slowly suffocate.

Many other sea animals also suffer, endangered turtles become entangled in nets, sharks bcome painfully trapped in lines, trawlers will scrape up the ocean bottom, destroying the coral reef. Over fishing has meant many predators now suffer, with a massive reduction in populationt numbers of sealions, whales and otters.

The question of dairy and eggs

Egg producing hens are stuffed into tiny cages for their entire lives, they are given artificial feed and lighting, and then, after a short, brutal life, are sent off to be killed. Free range still isn't much better, even with the space of a barn they are crammed in tightly, they suffer from severe mites and many end up completely bald and die. Even though chickens have a life expectancy of 5-10 years, they are slaughtered at just 72 weeks old.

The males aren't needed for egg production so most are disposed of at a day old. They are either gassed, which can lead to them gasping for breath, taking a couple of minutes to complete, or are macerated, simply being minced alive. They never even see the light of day. Eggs really do have a cruel hidden twist.

Dairy hides a smilar story. Calves are removed from their mothers at birth so we can use their milk, the females go on to become milk producers, the males have a similar fate to that of male chickens and are often shot at just days old for veal or are fattened up and raised for meat. The conditions these animals live in is beyond disgusting. Cramped into tiny barns and hooked upto milking machines multiple times a day. The cows are impregnated every year to keep their milk flowing. They are often genetically manipulated to increase their milk flow. Cows have a life expectancy of up to 20 years, but after fulfilling their duty, they are slaughtered at under 5 years old.

Calves rescued from auction by Marji Beach

Beyond the food

Animals being used for our benefit goes well beyond just what we eat. Many toiletries contain animal ingredients, including keratin in your haircare, which comes from animals fur, feather, hooves and horns, or even allantoin, a product derived from cows urine, used in your toothpaste. Even the clothes we wear often hide a cruel background, from the leather on our shoes that use to be the skin of a cow, to the fur on a coat, a fox that was beaten to death and skinned alive to make a simple accessory.

Even if we remove all these animal ingredients from our products there may still be hidden animal exploitation. Animals are made to suffer gruesome tests to see if our products are fit for use. Rabbits will have substances forced into their eyes, causing severe pain, swelling and blindness. Chimps will be given deadly diseases so they can be used for experimental vaccines. All this torture and pain often gives unreliable results, and may not even be applicable to us, but the product can then still go on to be used by us.

The solution

Cruelty free living is the only way forward. Remove all animal products from our lifestyle, only buy products that haven't been tested on animals and boycott any cruelly derived clothing. Bring compassion into your life and respect the animals we share this world with.

It is easier than you think, with so many companies now dedicated to avoiding the unneccesary use of animals for their products and many more are starting to understand the demand for a cruelty free lifestyle. If you struggle, take it slowly, dedicate one day a week to being cruelty free then slowly increase it, until it becomes your normal way of life.

Here's how you can change...

Diet

There are plenty of meat alternatives to try, look for Fry's, available in Holland and Barrett, from tasty chicken style chunks, to satisfying burgers and sausages. Great vegan cheese is available too, violife offer a cheese thats so good you will never look back. You can still have your cereal with milk, alpro offer great tasting soya milk, and their range varies even further, from dairy free cream, to delicous yoghurts!
Fry's | Violife | Alpro

Personal care and household

Look out for the leaping bunny logo on cosmetics, toiletries and household products, it means they don't test any of their products, or any of their ingredients on animals. Superdrug is a great place to start, all their own brand products are approved, plus their products are labelled if they are vegan too. Look for their own make up range 'B.'. Marks and Spencers own brand are all approved too, hooray! You can't go wrong at lush, animal friendly and absolutely divine, from dreamy bath soaks to indulgent massage bars... oooh! Vegan products are labelled too!
BUAV | Superdrug | M&S | Lush

Wear

Go for some Vegetarian shoes, from winter boots, to ladies heels, its fashionable footwear without the cruelty! Take a look at Fashion Conscience a great place to find ethical clothing, vegan bags to statement dresses.
Vegetarian Shoes | Fashion Conscience