Our words shape our attitudes, and the language used and the contempt shown in this video is a clear symptom of a deeper problem: the failure to acknowledge dairy cows as sentient beings deserving of our respect. The lives of dairy cows are dedicated to generating income for farmers and providing valuable nutrition for consumers. However, videos like this pose a risk to the industry by unfairly tainting all dairy farmers with the same brush. Fostering a community among all dairy farmers that prioritizes compassion, education, and accountability for animal welfare is essential. This approach is crucial in preventing the spread of harmful attitudes and unacceptable behaviors within the industry. #dairyfarming #dairyindustry #stopthespread #languagematters #everycowcounts #dairycowwelfare https://lnkd.in/gUysszBS
I am sure there are better ways of dealing with this than a social media pile on? I have followed Bart for a long time and there is a huge amount of good that he is doing for the industry - this may be below a perceived line but we are all in this together.
Born @331.36ppm C | veterinarian | animal welfare - education + advocacy + consultancy + strategy | energy scarcity and degrowth | environmental champion
8moI saw this on X (but see it’s been deleted now) and was pretty horrified. I gently suggested that the X might want reconsidering - didn’t get a very useful response; I certainly don’t find it funny. It is an interesting case to consider. Firstly, is this the way we want the industry to be represented? Secondly, over and above that, is this an acceptable and heathy attitude to have towards animals that spend their lives working for us for our gain? I’d be interested to know how many farmers find this acceptable - from both a risk and reputation perspective and also from a respect and value vs disrespect and contempt POV. It makes me feel really uncomfortable, if that counts for anything, and it looks like a risky attitude to platform to the world.