Let’s all sacrifice and stop cattle slaughter
Posted on May 31st, 2013
Editorial-Daily Mirror
The self immolation of the Ven. Bowatte Indarathana Thera in front of the hallowed Dalada Maligawa on Vasak Day in support of the growing campaign for a ban on cattle slaughter needs to be addressed urgently and effectively so that this sacrifice could be turned into a positive dimension for religious and ethnic unity in diversity.
Unfortunately after the monkƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚a former member of the Jathika Hela UrumayaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚died last Saturday night some extremist elements try to create trouble which could have escalated into religious strife. There were heated and angry disputes among some groups and the police outside a funeral parlour in Colombo last Sunday when the police apparently acting on the orders from the top carried away the monkƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s body from the backdoor of the parlour and took it to his temple in Kahawatte. The furious demonstrators including some Buddhist monks said they wanted the body kept in Colombo for at least two hours to enable people to pay their respects. But the authorities probably feared this could stir up religious tension and rejected the request. The furious demonstrators then marched down Bauddhaloka Mawatha and wanted to go to Temple Trees to meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa. They were stopped at Thunmulla junction and only a small delegation was allowed to go to Temple Trees for a meeting with an official of the Presidential Secretariat while the other demonstrators sat on Galle Road and disrupted traffic.
On Tuesday when the monkƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s funeral was held at Kahawatte, trouble erupted again and people jeered at a senior minister who was scheduled to deliver the funeral oration.
The tragedy has now led to an intensified campaign for a ban on cattle slaughter as a first step to a possible ban on the killing of all animals. One of Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s most qualified nutritionists Dr. Damayanthi Perera says there are solid and scientifically proved health reasons, moral and ethical factors for a ban on cattle slaughter. She believes school children and others should be made aware of the brutal way in which cattle are killed in most slaughter houses so that they will willingly and voluntarily support a ban on cattle slaughter as a first step towards the wonderful concept of vegetarianism. Most nutritionists believe Sri Lankans could get all the protein and nutrition they need through vegetarianism while animal protein is restricted to the milk of cows or goats. Most Buddhist and Hindu people who are sincere in their commitment to their spiritual principles do not eat beef or any form of meat and live a healthy life. While most Hindu or Saiva hotels maintain strict vegetarian meals, it is sad that many hotels owned by Buddhists sell all sorts of meat products. They also must be made aware of the need to practise what is preached in the Dhamma and put spirituality before profit.
The Catholic and Christian community in Sri Lanka also needs to seriously consider the need to avoid cattle slaughter as a first step to move towards vegetarianism as an act of unity with the Buddhist and Hindu people.
During the Vesak season this year Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo, appealed to Christians to avoid meat eating. We urge the Catholic Bishops Conference of Sri Lanka to consider possibility of supporting a ban on cattle slaughter as the first step towards stopping the killing of any animal for human consumption. This could be an important step towards strengthening the dialogue with all religions.
Some members of the Muslim community are also supporting such moves. As a compromise it is suggested that small quantities of beef and other meat could be imported for those who still want it.
May 31st, 2013 at 3:37 pm
BAN cattle slaughter.
When importing we must ensure the consignments are FUMIGATED. Check for experience in other countries. Very dangerous germs enter the country through beef imports.
Christians have greatly reduced their beef consumption today.
Thank you daily mirror for taking up a people’s cause (for a change).
June 1st, 2013 at 5:49 am
India is becoming a big eater of meat. They are rustling cattle on the streets for slaughter. So much for the Hindus who profess to be vegetarians. India also has the biggest muslim population who are meat eaters. See attached.
http://www.care2.com/causes/even-countries-known-for-vegetarians-are-eating-too-much-meat.html
Because there are so many alternatives to meat now such as soya protein, wheat protein, etc., eating meat is not necessary at all. Sri Lanka needs to set up a factory to process soya beans to soya protein and make burghers, fillets and other delicious meat alternatives. In U.K, USA etc., due to health issues many have with degenerative heart disease, high cholesterol, and mad cow disease etc, people are turning to vegetarianism. Please all see the speech by the CEO of Citibank which is attached.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMzd6DvTg3E
June 1st, 2013 at 7:55 am
I have mentioned this a couple times before. Buddhists should refrain from consuming beef and stop selling cattle for slaughter. Hindus do not consume beef and it is up to the Christian leaders to discourage their followers. Only the Muslims will remain and I am doubtful that they will stop beef consumption. Let them rear the cattle needed for slaughter. After using the cattle for other purposes for a life time they should not be sold for meat in a majority Buddhist country. This will greatly reduce the number slaughtered.
At this moment it will not be and easy task to ban cattle slaughter or may not be even practical.
June 2nd, 2013 at 8:35 pm
What are the Facts?
140 Billion Animals Slaughtered Worldwide Every Year
Religion or Not, Islam or Not, Christianity or Not, Hinduism or Not, this has happened. Even the so-called Buddhists and Hindus eat meat.
DO YOU EAT MEAT?
DO YOU HAVE TO EAT MEAT?
ARE HUMANS CARNIVORES? HERBIVORES? OMNIVORES?
http://blog.mamashealth.com/serena-the-wanna-be-vegetarian/140-billion-animals-slaughtered-worldwide-every-year/
Since you opened this page, this is the number of animals killed worldwide by the meat, egg, and dairy industries.
Everybody eats meat, except the PURE vegetarians.
This is the worldwide Animal Industry. Do you eat meat?
http://www.upc-online.org/slaughter/92704stats.htm
STATISTICS: GLOBAL FARMED ANIMAL SLAUGHTER
From Farmed Animal Watch: n.68, v.2
Globally, slaughter of farmed animals for food increased to more than 50 BILLION individuals in 2003, not including any types of aquatic animals. The estimates, which are compiled and provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, are based on reports from more than 210 countries and territories. It is important to note that, while fairly comprehensive, these estimates may be significantly understated due to some countries or territories not reporting statistics and exclusions of some types of slaughter.
With nearly 46 billion slaughtered in 2003, chickens accounted for 93% all types of farmed animals included in the FAO database. Following chickens, more ducks were slaughtered for their flesh than any other animal; approximately 2.3 billion ducks were slaughtered in 2003. Not considering birds, the slaughter of pigs was highest with more than 1.2 billion pigs slaughtered in 2003, followed by more than 850 million rabbits slaughtered last year. See below for a summary of the minimum 2003 worldwide slaughter estimates, by type of animal.
— 45,895 million (45.9 billion) chickens
— 2,262 million (2.3 billion) ducks
— 1,244 million (1.2 billion) pigs
— 857 million rabbits
— 691 million turkeys
— 533 million geese
— 515 million sheep
— 345 million goats
— 292 million cows and calves (for beef and veal)
— 65 million other rodents (not including rabbits)
— 63 million pigeons and other birds
— 23 million buffalo
— 4 million horses
— 3 million donkeys and mules
— 2 million camels (and other camelids)
These numbers indicate some significant changes compared to slaughter statistics from 1998. Over the past five years, slaughter of birds for meat has increased substantially, driven by a 30% increase in ducks and a 20% increase in chickens slaughtered. Goose slaughter also increased significantly, 17% over the five-year period, while turkey slaughter grew at a relatively slow 4% since 1998. The period from 1998 to 2003 also saw significant global increases in the slaughter of rabbits (21%), goats (19%), camels (12%), asses (10%), sheep (10%), buffalo (10%), and pigs (9%). On the other hand, the same five-year period saw decreases in the numbers of rodents (down 10%, not including rabbits) and mules (down 22%) slaughtered for their flesh.
According to the FAO database, farmed animal production is highly concentrated in a handful of countries, most notably China and the United States. For each of the ten most slaughtered animals, at least half of the total 2003 slaughter is accounted for by the five highest-production countries. China slaughters more ducks, pigs, rabbits, geese, lambs, goats, cows and calves than any other country in the world. The US slaughters more chickens and turkeys than any other country, and is second only to China when it comes to pig slaughter. Overall, in 2003 China slaughtered more than 10.5 billion animals for their flesh, while the US slaughtered more than 9.5 billion animals, not including aquatic animals in either case.
FAO Statistical Database – Agriculture
http://faostat.fao.org/faostat/collections?subset=agriculture