Failed Backyard Farms Lead to Growing Number of Homeless Animals.

[Cultural Speciesism Around the Globe.]

Failed backyard farms lead to growing number of homeless animals.

“People have a romantic view of farming, but it takes a lot of time, energy and money to care for animals. Here, we take our chickens to the vet, and when they’re sick, we give them antibiotics. People need to ask themselves if they’re ready to take on that kind of responsibility for the life of the animal. Often, they’re not,” says Kirshenbaum.

 

The popularity of raising chickens is one of the greatest challenges for farm animal sanctuaries. Hatcheries are only 90 percent accurate when sexing newborn chicks, according to Woodstock, so when urban agrarians bring them home, there’s a chance they’ll end up with a rooster or two.

[Kerry Baker]

There was an article in a newspaper here about the Irish economic crisis and that many people who had bought horses during the boom were unable to pay for their upkeep when the downturn happened.  So many just let their horses loose in surrounding hills and the poor things were starving to death.  Animal rescue groups were trying very hard to rescue as many as possible, but very difficult.  Similarly in America.  Something I can never understand is that people would abandon their home and leave a pet shut in a cupboard to die.  But as long as people continue to regard animals as nothing other than a 'thing' that can be discarded when no longer convenient I suppose they will go on.  Quite depressing really.

[Kerry Baker]

Hi Roger.  These were articles that were reported in one of our major daily newspapers the Age from Melbourne.  This link is basically the same article about the horses;

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,730796,00.html

I can't recall how long ago the item about the pets being left to die shut up in cupboards in the USA but it was linked to the GFC and people walking away from their homes. 

I can't understand the senseless cruelty inherent in what these people do to their pets.

[Kerry Baker]

Found the original story from The Age archives.

http://www.theage.com.au/world/irish-horses-starve-as-boom-turns-to...