In a civilised society we want to treat animals humanely. I would like to think that we would also want to treat human beings humanely as well. But that is not always the case. A new TV documentary has aroused a lot of passion about cruelty to animals, but we await a similar TV doco highlighting cruelty to unborn babies.
Last night the ABC aired on 4 Corners a program about how Australian cattle were treated in Indonesian abattoirs. I did not see the program but it has caused quite a stir – and evidently rightly so. The footage was apparently quite graphic as it exposed some pretty horrendous treatment of these animals.
One thing of interest however: In a major AAP story about this in today’s press, no mention was made of why this is occurring. The truth is, the Australian killing of cattle is fine, but these cattle are going to Muslim markets, so they have to be killed in accordance with halal methods.
Halal slaughter processes appear to be far more inhumane than non-halal processes. One writer puts it this way: “Let’s be perfectly clear and reiterate that the concern is not for how cattle are treated by Australian farmers or station managers. By all accounts, and as one said on the program last night, they like their animals. A lot. But to make money, the cattle have to be sold. And Indonesia is a big market.
“In regular abattoirs, the cattle are stunned and knocked unconscious before being slaughtered. It’s quick and about as pain-free as you can get. But halal rules (Islamic dietary rules for the consumption of meat) require the animal to be alive when it is killed. To many, being unconscious does not count as being alive. But halal also requires one clean cut across the throat. As 4 Corners uncovered last night, many deaths are the result of blunt knives and require on average at least 10 ‘goes’. Sometimes up to 30.”
An article in the press two years ago gives a slightly different slant on whether such halal methods are required under sharia (Islamic law): “The King of Jordan’s sister has appealed to the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, to stop the ritual slaughter of conscious animals for halal meat in Australia, saying it was not necessary under Islamic principles.
“Princess Alia bint al-Hussein of Jordan, who is the sister of King Abdullah II of Jordan, said she had written to Mr Rudd saying that any lowering of animal welfare standards in Australia for religious reasons would be a blow to the country’s reputation and undermine progress in the Middle East.
“‘Contrary to some claims, killing without stunning is not necessary under Islamic principles,’ she said. The Australian standard on ritual slaughter for halal and kosher meat states that animals must first be rendered unconscious by electrical stunning before their throats are cut. But under a disputed federal guideline, the Government has allowed at least four Victorian abattoirs exemptions to kill without stunning to fulfil Middle Eastern export contracts over the past two years.”
The exact Islamic requirements for halal slaughter thus may not be fully clear, at least in some quarters. But I raise this issue since the AAP story did not mention this aspect at all. I presume the 4 Corners story did mention it. But another thing not being mentioned is another horrific form of slaughter which happens every day, yet without any MSM exposure and outcry.
I refer of course to the 100,000 unborn babies who are killed every year in Australia, and the 45-50 million killed every year around the world. This slaughter is really far worse, yet will we ever see the ABC or other MSM outlets running a story on this? Will they feature a full-colour, graphic, no-holds-barred documentary on this at prime time for the Australian public to witness?
I somehow don’t think so. Not only do we know that unborn babies experience pain at an early age (but are given no anaesthesia for their killing), but we know that most of the abortion methods are horrifically barbaric and painful. I have described one of them elsewhere:
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2010/05/20/late-term-baby-killing/
And see the illustrations here:
http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/PBA_Images/PBA_Images_Heathers_Place.htm
Simply to be aware of what takes place during a D&X, or late-term abortion, should put most people off from ever considering having an abortion. But this information is being wilfully, deliberately, and maliciously kept away from people. Almost no one in the MSM will run with this info, because it is simply not politically correct to do so.
The pro-abortion lobby has effectively censored out any contrary views on what actually takes place during an abortion. Undoubtedly the Indonesian authorities did not want the outside world to see what happens inside their abattoirs. In the same way, the abortion industry does not want the outside world to see what happens in their abortion mills.
We wait for the day when the world can see the truth of what happens there. The ABC may think it was brave in airing this show on the mistreatment of cattle. But we will not hold our breath as we wait for it to display some courage on an even greater calamity and cruel massacre.
We live in a topsy-turvy world. One pro-abortion advocate told me it was “inhumane” how difficult it was to get an abortion – apparently, ‘phoning up and getting a same-day appointment without a referral is “difficult” – while in the same breath saying that it would have been more humane for his partner to have been aborted as she was partially blind. I can’t get my head around that, and I’m not sure I ever want to!
Mishka Gora
Thanks Mishka
Yes quite right. It is often the case that as moral meltdowns occur, mental weakness will likely follow. And I say that in a sincere and non-derogatory fashion. As we sear our consciences, we do harm to our entire being, including our mental capacities. This is something of a spiritual truth which we need to be aware of in these situations.
But respectfully I have a few problems here:
-Getup is a secular leftist activist group which is pro-abortion and often quite hostile to biblical Christianity.
-It depends on what this petition will achieve. Will it simply damage the Australian cattle industry for example?
-I think I would rather promote a petition which would ban the wholesale suffering and slaughter of innocent babies, something which Getup will never allow on its site.
As I say in the article, having concern for animal welfare is vital, but so too are some other issues, which this petition may work against. But thanks for sharing.
What do others think?
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
I grappled with this type of problem when I stood as a candidate at the last Victorian election.
There are many issues where Christians agree with the secular world about things which are not right and should be fixed. There are issues of far greater importance, however, that the secular world studiously wants to ignore.
Do we let the secularists set the agenda and spend a large amount of our time on minor issues because at least we might do a bit of good? Or do we attempt to change the agenda by insisting we will only talk about the more important issues first, running the risk that we won’t achieve anything?
Christians may differ on this, but I came to the conclusion that working to a secular agenda was not being salt and light. I resolved only to talk about the important things and turn any question about minor issues around to the big stuff.
In this case, this means doing what Bill has just done – saying we are against animal cruelty but point out there are far bigger problems with our nation that need to be tackled first. Regarding petitions about this, I would not waste time on them, particularly if it legitimises anti-Christian groups like GetUp. If there is opportunity – suggest that the question should rather be: ‘Do you think Australia should prioritise stopping the torture of cows or babies?’.
Mansel Rogerson
Thanks for that Mansel.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
I have to say that all torture is satanic and evil whether it’s done to an animal or human in my opinion. The murderers of Anita Cobby years ago delighted in animal torture. We are the light and salt of this earth as Mansel has stated and this applies to matters that don’t always fit our political ‘platform’. That said, there is a huge difference between an innocent human life and an animal. Humans are made in the image of God and it is an appalling offense to God when every one of these babies’ lives are taken. Yes, make a fuss about those animals (not to Get Up but somewhere) if you can…but abortion must be treated as possibly the greatest evil in our world today and if we don’t fight it, God will want to know why.
Dee Graf
GetUp is absolutely pro-abortion, pro-choice, and their hypocrisy of caring for animals who have been treated cruelly but making no mention of the glaring silence on the issue of abortion stinks.
No respect for GetUp in my circle of friends.
Jane Petridge
This was running through my mind today too Bill. Such hypocrisy is on display here. Yes it is ugly seeing the way animals are slaughtered over there but slaughtering 100,000 Aussie babies/year here is a far more gruesome manner is much much worse then what the livestock are going through. Instead of life giving and life saving doctors we have slaughter house doctors and nurses destroying our innocents just to accommodate women’s rights to their own bodies. How will God ever forgive us? I’d like to see 100,000 pink and blue balloons released into the Melbourne skies in the October March For Babies to try and bring the reality of this heinous crime home.
Keith Lewis
Thanks guys
In less than a day after the doco was shown the government acted and banned live cattle exports.
What might be the results if the public were shown a doco on the reality of the abortion industry?
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
I caught just a glimpse of the all-too-vivid images on TV before changing the channel. My ten year old asked why, and I reminded him that animals are not to be tortured, and that some mental images are too awful to be seared into one’s brain.
As part of that news report, someone (I can’t remember whether it was a cattleman or politician) remarked that there were no abatoirs in the northern parts of the country. I find this incredible that Australia has apparently priced itself out of the meat-processing market, so that it is more profitable exporting live cattle overseas than it is to process the animals in a controlled an humane manner within Australia. Alice Spring’s abatoir has been closed for over 25 years.
But back to your main point–you and I will wait a long, long time before simply airing is giving to the aborted millions worldwide. God help us!
Steve Swartz
I did watch the program and was horrified at the intensely cruel treatment of the poor creatures being slaughtered. I was awake long into the night, haunted by images of such tragic suffering. However, like many commenting here, the contrast between the very appropriate outcry and action which followed this program, and the appalling apathy, indifference, or outright advocacy which characterise our society’s response to the depraved abortion industry — well!! — that contrast reduces me to tears. Babies in the womb are slaughtered daily, with appalling cruelty and without anaesthetic when they have well developed pain receptors. Some are born alive and left to die, sometimes crying for many hours. A motion to amend the abortion laws to allow such little ones to be given the same appropriate care as other newborns was defeated here in Australia and by a majority of WOMEN !!!
By all means let’s prevent cruel practices in animal slaughter but, for heaven’s sake, let’s get our priorities right and put an end to the evil abortion industry which daily commits murder on an unbelievable scale.
Anna Cook
Yet, they don’t give a thought when they torture and kill their own unborn babies, their own flesh and blood. What compassion and love is that, when one is disgusted by the brutal ways the cows were slaughtered but yet will allow pain to be inflicted on their own helpless unborn, their own flesh and blood. No way they will watch the videos of the defenceless unborn babies, grimacing in the acute pain of being aborted. They are many times more gruesome than the slaughter of the cows. Many would not want to be mentally tortured by the truth, but that won’t make the truth disappear. Can you hear in your hearts, the spirits of the aborted babies silently crying out…mummy.. daddy? Listen carefully and you will hear them, or is our heart still so hardened, so unmoved? Or has the moo-ing of the cows drowned out the cries of these helpless ones ?
Barry Koh
Dear Bill, thank you for voicing what many of us thought. Of course, we are dealing not only with mental weakness, but plain spiritual darkness also. Weren’t we warned in God’s word that times would come where good is declared evil and evil declared good? and turning priorities upside-down is part of that development. People without the knowledge of God can’t have proper understanding and the further we are removed from our Christian roots as a society, the more obvious this becomes. “knowledge of the Holy one is understanding” proverbs and also “The tender mercies of the wicked are cruelties”, proverbs I am sure none of us ever want to find out what evil unmasked really looks like, including those who happily declare God is either deed or never existed. What a horrible surprise they are facing.
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
Bill,
In answer to your question, “What might be the results…” , I don’t think they would be the same. Why, you may ask? First up, I must say that I did not see the ABC programme, but have read a number of responses to it. As to why I don’t think that a video on abortion would produce the same result is because the Australian people are not primed (pre-conditioned) to respond to baby murder as they are to animal killing. For years the society as a whole has been shaped by feminist/humanist thought that such murder is not murder, because that the removal of “foetal tissue” is a woman’s right of control over her own body.
Allied to this is the degradation of the human race to the level of a destructive species that needs to be curtailed in numbers, and the elevation of animals to at least out our current value, if not to pre-degradation levels. In effect we are the cause of the world’s problems, and the cause of animal suffering. In short, we have a new guilt ridden identity which doesn’t allow us to stand up for ourselves when accused by manipulaters seemingly possessed with a death wish for the human race.
Then there would be the eruption of a clash of world views between those who fight to defend their “right” to control their own bodies, and all their “running dogs” and “useful idiots” who would not let that point be conceded to the “religious bigots”, the group that holds the opposing world view.
There would be of lot of internal conflict in a lot of people, and any change would involve recognition of personal wrong doing and hypocrisy. That would not be easy.
At present, the responses I see fall into the emotive, hysterical, knee-jerk, irrational category, with no thought given to the dreadful effect that live export bans would have on the farmers, rural towns, allied and dependent industries, and economic ripple effect to the national economy. Another country, perhaps Brazil, would fill the gap by invitation from Indonesia like yesterday. We would then have animals from a FMD (I believe) country right next door.
The ABC video has provided an opportunity for the anti animal for food movement to ban live exports (so as not to kill fellow sentient beings) rather than deal with the issue of cruelty in Indonesia. Compassion, I believe is smokescreen for the furthering of their agenda. It seems to me also that it promotes the unregenerate desire to be a “moral” and “good” person, without the necessity of having the righteousness of Christ imparted to them through regeneration. By condemning the evil, real or perceived in others, they have become “good” or “righteous.”
All of the above does not mean I condone the cruel behaviour exhibited, nor am I at present tendering a solution to the problem which cannot happen overnight, as some others apparently think/ react. I come from a farming background, and am now a Pastor. As once a farmer, I know that cruelty and poor stewardship reduces profits, because value is deducted for bruising and poor condition. As a Christian, I know by Scripture and the internal witness of the Holy Spirit, that cruelty has no place in the heart of God.
But neither do I equate the value of animals to the value of Man.
If such a video about the horrors of abortion were to be shown, it couldn’t be just a report on what’s happening, but a call to action by all Australians, otherwise it would be bogged down in endless debate by the “rights” people.
This is not to say it wouldn’t work like the 4 Corners programme, but the context or conditioned cultural mindset into which it comes needs to be considered.
It’s late, I’m tired, and have probably gone over the word limit, but these are a few of my thoughts at the moment. I do have some others, but they’re for another day.
Kind regards,
Robert Greggery
Dear Bill,
This is so timely for us here in Albury as we desperately try to offer help to women and their babies in front of our town’s abortion clinic. We had animal rights activists harrassing us a few weeks ago. It is just bizarre how insignificant human life is to them. Keep fighting the good fight. Champion.
Anna von Marburg
This was my first thought too, when I saw the outrage against animal cruelty. I thought, why don’t they show abortion in all it’s grim inhumanity? Surely this is the number one outrage of our era, and surely the lie of the devil, to be so concerned for animal cruelty and accepting of the murder of babies. It is evil personified!
Lesley Kadwell
I know by this date no one will even check the comments on this post any more, but I am so excited because Robert has made the lie of the land pretty clear to me with his comment. Reduced to a few words it is “In humanists’ eyes we are guilty, but without a remedy. In God’s eyes we are guilty, but with a remedy, the cross of Jesus.” Praise His name.
Many blessings
Ursula bennett
Dee, One problem with saying humans are more valuable than animals because they are made in the image of God is that it can be argued that humans don’t come to bear the image of God until they’re born. A while ago I read a book by (as it happens) an Australian Christian (I forget his name) claiming just that, and that, as a result, abortion is OK. (The writer was a scientist who had some fancy arguments about early stages of gestation, and God-image-bearing). I would claim (forgetting “image of God”) that humans are valuable because, from conception (and in eternity) God chose that they should exist.
John Thomas, UK
Dear Bill, With regard to the banning of live cattle exports I have sent you the following article from the RSPCA website which claims that, ‘there are instances where the relevant Australian state or territory meat-inspection authority can approve an abattoir for ritual slaughter without prior stunning – either halal or kosher – for the domestic market.’ which means that Australian animals are not fully protected as we are being led to believe. See below for reprint of and link to RSPCA full article (my highlights in red).
I am also concerned about the knee-jerk decision of the government, which as usual has been self-protective and reactive instead of proactive. Whilst it is great for Australian cattle that live exports have been suspended, I greatly fear for the fate of the non-Australian animals which will no doubt worsen if we completely pull out our involvement in Indonesia and other such nations. Surely a much better solution surely would be to insist that these countries improve their practises, thus ensuring the welfare of all animals. Or are Australian animals the only ones who feel pain?!?
Yours sincerely
Rose Taylor
RSCPA Article: ‘What is Halal Slaughter in Australia’
“Halal describes what is ‘fit and proper’ for Muslims to eat. It gives a range of beverages and foods (including meat) that are acceptable. Halal food laws are based on interpretation of the Quran, the Muslim scripture. Before halal slaughter, prayers to Allah are required. Halal slaughter in Australia may differ from halal slaughter overseas because of the differing interpretations of the Quran.
The standard for meat production in Australia is that all animals must be effectively stunned (unconscious) prior to slaughter. The most common form of halal slaughter complies with the Australian standard. The only difference between this halal-slaughter method is that it uses a reversible stunning method, while conventional humane slaughter uses an irreversible stunning method. Halal slaughter overseas may not permit stunning of the animal and this is the key difference between halal slaughter in Australia and halal slaughter in some other countries.
However, there are instances where the relevant Australian state or territory meat-inspection authority can approve an abattoir for ritual slaughter without prior stunning – either halal or kosher – for the domestic market. For cattle and sheep, the requirements for this type of slaughter are set out in a nationally adopted guideline Ritual Slaughter for Ovine (Sheep) and Bovine (Cattle):
For cattle, this means the animal must remain in an upright position with the head and body restrained. The animal must be stunned with a captive-bolt pistol immediately after the throat is cut (known as ‘sticking’). Two separate people must perform the sticking and stunning. If there are any problems restraining the animal while attempting to stick it, then it must be stunned immediately.
For religious slaughter of sheep, the guideline requires cutting both the carotid arteries and the jugular veins. This must be confirmed — if they are not completely severed, then the animal must be immediately stunned.
Cattle and sheep requirements are different because cattle have an extra blood supply to the brain through the back of the neck. Therefore, cutting cattle’s throats results in less rapid loss of consciousness.
All commercial chicken abattoirs in Australia stun the chicken prior to the throat cut, including for halal chicken.
The RSPCA is strongly opposed to all forms of slaughter that do not involve prior stunning of the animal.
The RSPCA is concerned there are greater risks of animal suffering during religious slaughter without stunning than for conventional slaughter. The number of animals involved is a tiny percentage of all animals killed but, regardless, the method is distressing to the animal due to:
•increased restraint
•injury caused by the slaughter methods
•subsequent bleeding out.
The use of stunning during the slaughter process can remove some, but not all, of these concerns.
The RSPCA definition of humane killing is: ‘an animal must be either killed instantly or rendered insensible to pain until death supervenes’. When killing animals for food, this means they must be stunned before slaughter so they immediately become unconscious. The RSPCA policy on ritual slaughter is clear: slaughter without prior stunning is inhumane and completely unnecessary. The RSPCA is opposed to inhumane methods of killing and continues to promote this view to governments and the public.
What you can do to help: contact Minister Joe Ludwig and tell him your are opposed to inhumane methods of killing animals, including the killing of animals for slaughter without prior stunning to ensure that they are insensible to pain.
For further information, see:
Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals: Livestock at Slaughtering Establishments.
Australian Standard for the Hygienic Production and Transportation of Meat and Meat Products for Human Consumption” http://kb.rspca.org.au/What-is-halal-slaughter-in-Australia_116.html
Ursula,
Thank you for your last comments, they really made my heart sing, and it is true what you say. Another thought; while Jesus offers us life from death when He reveals our true condition to us, satan does not (and, of course, will not). He can only offer more of what we have, spiritual death. However, it will presented as “life” or the way out (how to be no longer guilty), but in reality, it will be expiation by works, e.g. saying yes to a carbon tax or Albanese’s congestion tax, and accepting the burden, or accepting more “diversity”, or whatever PC “solution” is to be shoved down our necks, etc. Expiation by works to be “good” or forgiven is works religion, and a prison for the soul. This is the path down which the god of this world is leading mankind. He is seeking whom he may devour.
Jesus has already paid the price for our sinfulness, He is the expiation for our sins, not us and/or our works. i hope I’m making sense. By the way, your implication is so wrong! People do revisit old posts! I’m glad I did.
Robert Greggery.
P.s. I have just looked up the word “expiate” to ensure I was using it correctly, and this is what my Collins Shorter Dictionary, 1974 ed. had to say. “v.t. to make satisfaction for; to atone for; to make amends for; to pay the penalty for.- (L. expiare, to make amends for).
As I read that, it suddenly struck me that there really is only two religions in the world. The religion of Life, and the religion of death. You know these things, but sometimes they suddenly hit you renewed force. Another following thought; it doesn’t matter what form the religion of death takes,whether extreme enviromentalism, communism, nazism, humanism, multiculturalism, materialism, they are still only expressions of the death religion, or the spiritual ungodly power. All of them are substitutes for the Life of God Himself that He longs to give us.
Robert Greggery
Bill, have you sent this article to media outlets? Given the enormous attention these cows are being given, I think some papers (perhaps regional ?) might actually run it…
Just a thought.
Sonja Couroupis
Thanks Sonja
No I haven’t but could give it a shot.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Dear Bill, My comments on this are a bit late due to me moving house but nevertheless they have been in my mind since the 4 corners programme which I only saw excerpts of. Personally, I find the hypocrisy, ignorance and indifference in Australian society to abortion disturbing and hard to comprehend. That there can be such a public outcry to cruelty to animals and a deathly silence to the cruelty towards unborn babies can only be due in part to the failure of the Australian media to properly inform society. The other reason is the deliberate indifference to this evil even from people of good will. They have simply not bothered to find alternative sources of information which are vital these days if we are to be properly informed about what is going on in society. Thus the carnage of abortion continues behind closed doors and such scandals as the fifty four full term aborted babies born alive and left to die in Victorian hospitals is not known about by most. I have made it a mission to tell everyone who would listen about it. It is a measure of a humane society how it treats its children and animals and animals should be treated humanely but you can bet your bottom dollar that the hypocritical ABC will not run a programme about full term aborted babies left to die in dishes in our hospitals. Your article was magnificent Bill and I hope and pray it will be widely read because that is the only answer to such evil.
Patricia Halligan
I have nothing but admiration and respect for the stand you are taking against abortion Bill. My prayer is that increasing numbers of Australians will join the battle in whatever way they can. The challenge is to keep a sense of peace in the midst of it as anger and rage accomplish nothing. Satan is the great deceiver, but God is in control.
Carolyn Etheredge
We live in a topsy-turvy world. One pro-abortion advocate told me it was “inhumane” how difficult it was to get an abortion – apparently, ‘phoning up and getting a same-day appointment without a referral is “difficult” – while in the same breath saying that it would have been more humane for his partner to have been aborted as she was partially blind. I can’t get my head around that, and I’m not sure I ever want to!
Mishka Gora
Thanks Mishka
Yes quite right. It is often the case that as moral meltdowns occur, mental weakness will likely follow. And I say that in a sincere and non-derogatory fashion. As we sear our consciences, we do harm to our entire being, including our mental capacities. This is something of a spiritual truth which we need to be aware of in these situations.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
You can sign a petition here:
http://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/animals/live-export/ban-live-export?referring_service=facebook&sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4de46ed2da8a34b5,0
Coralie Casey
Thanks Coralie
But respectfully I have a few problems here:
-Getup is a secular leftist activist group which is pro-abortion and often quite hostile to biblical Christianity.
-It depends on what this petition will achieve. Will it simply damage the Australian cattle industry for example?
-I think I would rather promote a petition which would ban the wholesale suffering and slaughter of innocent babies, something which Getup will never allow on its site.
As I say in the article, having concern for animal welfare is vital, but so too are some other issues, which this petition may work against. But thanks for sharing.
What do others think?
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
I grappled with this type of problem when I stood as a candidate at the last Victorian election.
There are many issues where Christians agree with the secular world about things which are not right and should be fixed. There are issues of far greater importance, however, that the secular world studiously wants to ignore.
Do we let the secularists set the agenda and spend a large amount of our time on minor issues because at least we might do a bit of good? Or do we attempt to change the agenda by insisting we will only talk about the more important issues first, running the risk that we won’t achieve anything?
Christians may differ on this, but I came to the conclusion that working to a secular agenda was not being salt and light. I resolved only to talk about the important things and turn any question about minor issues around to the big stuff.
In this case, this means doing what Bill has just done – saying we are against animal cruelty but point out there are far bigger problems with our nation that need to be tackled first. Regarding petitions about this, I would not waste time on them, particularly if it legitimises anti-Christian groups like GetUp. If there is opportunity – suggest that the question should rather be: ‘Do you think Australia should prioritise stopping the torture of cows or babies?’.
Mansel Rogerson
Thanks for that Mansel.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
I have to say that all torture is satanic and evil whether it’s done to an animal or human in my opinion. The murderers of Anita Cobby years ago delighted in animal torture. We are the light and salt of this earth as Mansel has stated and this applies to matters that don’t always fit our political ‘platform’. That said, there is a huge difference between an innocent human life and an animal. Humans are made in the image of God and it is an appalling offense to God when every one of these babies’ lives are taken. Yes, make a fuss about those animals (not to Get Up but somewhere) if you can…but abortion must be treated as possibly the greatest evil in our world today and if we don’t fight it, God will want to know why.
Dee Graf
GetUp is absolutely pro-abortion, pro-choice, and their hypocrisy of caring for animals who have been treated cruelly but making no mention of the glaring silence on the issue of abortion stinks.
No respect for GetUp in my circle of friends.
Jane Petridge
This was running through my mind today too Bill. Such hypocrisy is on display here. Yes it is ugly seeing the way animals are slaughtered over there but slaughtering 100,000 Aussie babies/year here is a far more gruesome manner is much much worse then what the livestock are going through. Instead of life giving and life saving doctors we have slaughter house doctors and nurses destroying our innocents just to accommodate women’s rights to their own bodies. How will God ever forgive us? I’d like to see 100,000 pink and blue balloons released into the Melbourne skies in the October March For Babies to try and bring the reality of this heinous crime home.
Keith Lewis
Thanks guys
In less than a day after the doco was shown the government acted and banned live cattle exports.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/warren-truss-rejects-ban-on-live-cattle-exports-after-indonesian-abbatoir-report/story-fn59niix-1226066393333
What might be the results if the public were shown a doco on the reality of the abortion industry?
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
I caught just a glimpse of the all-too-vivid images on TV before changing the channel. My ten year old asked why, and I reminded him that animals are not to be tortured, and that some mental images are too awful to be seared into one’s brain.
As part of that news report, someone (I can’t remember whether it was a cattleman or politician) remarked that there were no abatoirs in the northern parts of the country. I find this incredible that Australia has apparently priced itself out of the meat-processing market, so that it is more profitable exporting live cattle overseas than it is to process the animals in a controlled an humane manner within Australia. Alice Spring’s abatoir has been closed for over 25 years.
But back to your main point–you and I will wait a long, long time before simply airing is giving to the aborted millions worldwide. God help us!
Steve Swartz
I did watch the program and was horrified at the intensely cruel treatment of the poor creatures being slaughtered. I was awake long into the night, haunted by images of such tragic suffering. However, like many commenting here, the contrast between the very appropriate outcry and action which followed this program, and the appalling apathy, indifference, or outright advocacy which characterise our society’s response to the depraved abortion industry — well!! — that contrast reduces me to tears. Babies in the womb are slaughtered daily, with appalling cruelty and without anaesthetic when they have well developed pain receptors. Some are born alive and left to die, sometimes crying for many hours. A motion to amend the abortion laws to allow such little ones to be given the same appropriate care as other newborns was defeated here in Australia and by a majority of WOMEN !!!
By all means let’s prevent cruel practices in animal slaughter but, for heaven’s sake, let’s get our priorities right and put an end to the evil abortion industry which daily commits murder on an unbelievable scale.
Anna Cook
Yet, they don’t give a thought when they torture and kill their own unborn babies, their own flesh and blood. What compassion and love is that, when one is disgusted by the brutal ways the cows were slaughtered but yet will allow pain to be inflicted on their own helpless unborn, their own flesh and blood. No way they will watch the videos of the defenceless unborn babies, grimacing in the acute pain of being aborted. They are many times more gruesome than the slaughter of the cows. Many would not want to be mentally tortured by the truth, but that won’t make the truth disappear. Can you hear in your hearts, the spirits of the aborted babies silently crying out…mummy.. daddy? Listen carefully and you will hear them, or is our heart still so hardened, so unmoved? Or has the moo-ing of the cows drowned out the cries of these helpless ones ?
Barry Koh
Dear Bill, thank you for voicing what many of us thought. Of course, we are dealing not only with mental weakness, but plain spiritual darkness also. Weren’t we warned in God’s word that times would come where good is declared evil and evil declared good? and turning priorities upside-down is part of that development. People without the knowledge of God can’t have proper understanding and the further we are removed from our Christian roots as a society, the more obvious this becomes. “knowledge of the Holy one is understanding” proverbs and also “The tender mercies of the wicked are cruelties”, proverbs I am sure none of us ever want to find out what evil unmasked really looks like, including those who happily declare God is either deed or never existed. What a horrible surprise they are facing.
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
Bill,
In answer to your question, “What might be the results…” , I don’t think they would be the same. Why, you may ask? First up, I must say that I did not see the ABC programme, but have read a number of responses to it. As to why I don’t think that a video on abortion would produce the same result is because the Australian people are not primed (pre-conditioned) to respond to baby murder as they are to animal killing. For years the society as a whole has been shaped by feminist/humanist thought that such murder is not murder, because that the removal of “foetal tissue” is a woman’s right of control over her own body.
Allied to this is the degradation of the human race to the level of a destructive species that needs to be curtailed in numbers, and the elevation of animals to at least out our current value, if not to pre-degradation levels. In effect we are the cause of the world’s problems, and the cause of animal suffering. In short, we have a new guilt ridden identity which doesn’t allow us to stand up for ourselves when accused by manipulaters seemingly possessed with a death wish for the human race.
Then there would be the eruption of a clash of world views between those who fight to defend their “right” to control their own bodies, and all their “running dogs” and “useful idiots” who would not let that point be conceded to the “religious bigots”, the group that holds the opposing world view.
There would be of lot of internal conflict in a lot of people, and any change would involve recognition of personal wrong doing and hypocrisy. That would not be easy.
At present, the responses I see fall into the emotive, hysterical, knee-jerk, irrational category, with no thought given to the dreadful effect that live export bans would have on the farmers, rural towns, allied and dependent industries, and economic ripple effect to the national economy. Another country, perhaps Brazil, would fill the gap by invitation from Indonesia like yesterday. We would then have animals from a FMD (I believe) country right next door.
The ABC video has provided an opportunity for the anti animal for food movement to ban live exports (so as not to kill fellow sentient beings) rather than deal with the issue of cruelty in Indonesia. Compassion, I believe is smokescreen for the furthering of their agenda. It seems to me also that it promotes the unregenerate desire to be a “moral” and “good” person, without the necessity of having the righteousness of Christ imparted to them through regeneration. By condemning the evil, real or perceived in others, they have become “good” or “righteous.”
All of the above does not mean I condone the cruel behaviour exhibited, nor am I at present tendering a solution to the problem which cannot happen overnight, as some others apparently think/ react. I come from a farming background, and am now a Pastor. As once a farmer, I know that cruelty and poor stewardship reduces profits, because value is deducted for bruising and poor condition. As a Christian, I know by Scripture and the internal witness of the Holy Spirit, that cruelty has no place in the heart of God.
But neither do I equate the value of animals to the value of Man.
If such a video about the horrors of abortion were to be shown, it couldn’t be just a report on what’s happening, but a call to action by all Australians, otherwise it would be bogged down in endless debate by the “rights” people.
This is not to say it wouldn’t work like the 4 Corners programme, but the context or conditioned cultural mindset into which it comes needs to be considered.
It’s late, I’m tired, and have probably gone over the word limit, but these are a few of my thoughts at the moment. I do have some others, but they’re for another day.
Kind regards,
Robert Greggery
Dear Bill,
This is so timely for us here in Albury as we desperately try to offer help to women and their babies in front of our town’s abortion clinic. We had animal rights activists harrassing us a few weeks ago. It is just bizarre how insignificant human life is to them. Keep fighting the good fight. Champion.
Anna von Marburg
This was my first thought too, when I saw the outrage against animal cruelty. I thought, why don’t they show abortion in all it’s grim inhumanity? Surely this is the number one outrage of our era, and surely the lie of the devil, to be so concerned for animal cruelty and accepting of the murder of babies. It is evil personified!
Lesley Kadwell
I know by this date no one will even check the comments on this post any more, but I am so excited because Robert has made the lie of the land pretty clear to me with his comment. Reduced to a few words it is “In humanists’ eyes we are guilty, but without a remedy. In God’s eyes we are guilty, but with a remedy, the cross of Jesus.” Praise His name.
Many blessings
Ursula bennett
Dee, One problem with saying humans are more valuable than animals because they are made in the image of God is that it can be argued that humans don’t come to bear the image of God until they’re born. A while ago I read a book by (as it happens) an Australian Christian (I forget his name) claiming just that, and that, as a result, abortion is OK. (The writer was a scientist who had some fancy arguments about early stages of gestation, and God-image-bearing). I would claim (forgetting “image of God”) that humans are valuable because, from conception (and in eternity) God chose that they should exist.
John Thomas, UK
Dear Bill, With regard to the banning of live cattle exports I have sent you the following article from the RSPCA website which claims that, ‘there are instances where the relevant Australian state or territory meat-inspection authority can approve an abattoir for ritual slaughter without prior stunning – either halal or kosher – for the domestic market.’ which means that Australian animals are not fully protected as we are being led to believe. See below for reprint of and link to RSPCA full article (my highlights in red).
I am also concerned about the knee-jerk decision of the government, which as usual has been self-protective and reactive instead of proactive. Whilst it is great for Australian cattle that live exports have been suspended, I greatly fear for the fate of the non-Australian animals which will no doubt worsen if we completely pull out our involvement in Indonesia and other such nations. Surely a much better solution surely would be to insist that these countries improve their practises, thus ensuring the welfare of all animals. Or are Australian animals the only ones who feel pain?!?
Yours sincerely
Rose Taylor
RSCPA Article: ‘What is Halal Slaughter in Australia’
“Halal describes what is ‘fit and proper’ for Muslims to eat. It gives a range of beverages and foods (including meat) that are acceptable. Halal food laws are based on interpretation of the Quran, the Muslim scripture. Before halal slaughter, prayers to Allah are required. Halal slaughter in Australia may differ from halal slaughter overseas because of the differing interpretations of the Quran.
The standard for meat production in Australia is that all animals must be effectively stunned (unconscious) prior to slaughter. The most common form of halal slaughter complies with the Australian standard. The only difference between this halal-slaughter method is that it uses a reversible stunning method, while conventional humane slaughter uses an irreversible stunning method. Halal slaughter overseas may not permit stunning of the animal and this is the key difference between halal slaughter in Australia and halal slaughter in some other countries.
However, there are instances where the relevant Australian state or territory meat-inspection authority can approve an abattoir for ritual slaughter without prior stunning – either halal or kosher – for the domestic market. For cattle and sheep, the requirements for this type of slaughter are set out in a nationally adopted guideline Ritual Slaughter for Ovine (Sheep) and Bovine (Cattle):
For cattle, this means the animal must remain in an upright position with the head and body restrained. The animal must be stunned with a captive-bolt pistol immediately after the throat is cut (known as ‘sticking’). Two separate people must perform the sticking and stunning. If there are any problems restraining the animal while attempting to stick it, then it must be stunned immediately.
For religious slaughter of sheep, the guideline requires cutting both the carotid arteries and the jugular veins. This must be confirmed — if they are not completely severed, then the animal must be immediately stunned.
Cattle and sheep requirements are different because cattle have an extra blood supply to the brain through the back of the neck. Therefore, cutting cattle’s throats results in less rapid loss of consciousness.
All commercial chicken abattoirs in Australia stun the chicken prior to the throat cut, including for halal chicken.
The RSPCA is strongly opposed to all forms of slaughter that do not involve prior stunning of the animal.
The RSPCA is concerned there are greater risks of animal suffering during religious slaughter without stunning than for conventional slaughter. The number of animals involved is a tiny percentage of all animals killed but, regardless, the method is distressing to the animal due to:
•increased restraint
•injury caused by the slaughter methods
•subsequent bleeding out.
The use of stunning during the slaughter process can remove some, but not all, of these concerns.
The RSPCA definition of humane killing is: ‘an animal must be either killed instantly or rendered insensible to pain until death supervenes’. When killing animals for food, this means they must be stunned before slaughter so they immediately become unconscious. The RSPCA policy on ritual slaughter is clear: slaughter without prior stunning is inhumane and completely unnecessary. The RSPCA is opposed to inhumane methods of killing and continues to promote this view to governments and the public.
What you can do to help: contact Minister Joe Ludwig and tell him your are opposed to inhumane methods of killing animals, including the killing of animals for slaughter without prior stunning to ensure that they are insensible to pain.
For further information, see:
Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals: Livestock at Slaughtering Establishments.
Australian Standard for the Hygienic Production and Transportation of Meat and Meat Products for Human Consumption”
http://kb.rspca.org.au/What-is-halal-slaughter-in-Australia_116.html
Ursula,
Thank you for your last comments, they really made my heart sing, and it is true what you say. Another thought; while Jesus offers us life from death when He reveals our true condition to us, satan does not (and, of course, will not). He can only offer more of what we have, spiritual death. However, it will presented as “life” or the way out (how to be no longer guilty), but in reality, it will be expiation by works, e.g. saying yes to a carbon tax or Albanese’s congestion tax, and accepting the burden, or accepting more “diversity”, or whatever PC “solution” is to be shoved down our necks, etc. Expiation by works to be “good” or forgiven is works religion, and a prison for the soul. This is the path down which the god of this world is leading mankind. He is seeking whom he may devour.
Jesus has already paid the price for our sinfulness, He is the expiation for our sins, not us and/or our works. i hope I’m making sense. By the way, your implication is so wrong! People do revisit old posts! I’m glad I did.
Robert Greggery.
P.s. I have just looked up the word “expiate” to ensure I was using it correctly, and this is what my Collins Shorter Dictionary, 1974 ed. had to say. “v.t. to make satisfaction for; to atone for; to make amends for; to pay the penalty for.- (L. expiare, to make amends for).
As I read that, it suddenly struck me that there really is only two religions in the world. The religion of Life, and the religion of death. You know these things, but sometimes they suddenly hit you renewed force. Another following thought; it doesn’t matter what form the religion of death takes,whether extreme enviromentalism, communism, nazism, humanism, multiculturalism, materialism, they are still only expressions of the death religion, or the spiritual ungodly power. All of them are substitutes for the Life of God Himself that He longs to give us.
Robert Greggery
Bill, have you sent this article to media outlets? Given the enormous attention these cows are being given, I think some papers (perhaps regional ?) might actually run it…
Just a thought.
Sonja Couroupis
Thanks Sonja
No I haven’t but could give it a shot.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Dear Bill, My comments on this are a bit late due to me moving house but nevertheless they have been in my mind since the 4 corners programme which I only saw excerpts of. Personally, I find the hypocrisy, ignorance and indifference in Australian society to abortion disturbing and hard to comprehend. That there can be such a public outcry to cruelty to animals and a deathly silence to the cruelty towards unborn babies can only be due in part to the failure of the Australian media to properly inform society. The other reason is the deliberate indifference to this evil even from people of good will. They have simply not bothered to find alternative sources of information which are vital these days if we are to be properly informed about what is going on in society. Thus the carnage of abortion continues behind closed doors and such scandals as the fifty four full term aborted babies born alive and left to die in Victorian hospitals is not known about by most. I have made it a mission to tell everyone who would listen about it. It is a measure of a humane society how it treats its children and animals and animals should be treated humanely but you can bet your bottom dollar that the hypocritical ABC will not run a programme about full term aborted babies left to die in dishes in our hospitals. Your article was magnificent Bill and I hope and pray it will be widely read because that is the only answer to such evil.
Patricia Halligan
I have nothing but admiration and respect for the stand you are taking against abortion Bill. My prayer is that increasing numbers of Australians will join the battle in whatever way they can. The challenge is to keep a sense of peace in the midst of it as anger and rage accomplish nothing. Satan is the great deceiver, but God is in control.
Carolyn Etheredge