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Compassionate Conservative Calls for 'Dominion' of Mercy
by John Darmanin
John is the Chairperson for the Vegetarian Society of Malta.
john@vegmalta.org
This fall, animals suffering on factory farms found an unlikely champion in the politically Republican and conservatively Christian author of a new bestseller, Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy. Matthew Scully had until recently been a speechwriter for George W. Bush and an editor at the ultraconservative National Review. Dominion was immediately hailed by animal advocates and truly compassionate conservatives alike as an eloquent plea for a new social contract between people and (other) animals.
In an emotional interview on U.S. National Public Radio, Scully reflected on the impact of his visit to a large U.S. hog operation:
"We've always known that livestock farming had a harsh aspect, by definition. But we had the consolation of believing that these animals had something like a life, that they were treated like living creatures and that their basic needs were respected. Now we can't assume that anymore. All mercies have been withdrawn. They have nothing. They have nothing"
Scully was also interviewed by National Review, bringing his message to readers who normally put corporate welfare before animal welfare. Remarkably, the online interview included links to Animal Sanctuary's unflinching photos of factory farmed chickens, pigs, and veal calves.
When asked why he became a vegetarian, Scully cited his exposure in 1974 to books and pictures about factory farming. "I saw in such pictures something merciless, deeply disordered, and unworthy of humanity. And I see factory farming just that way today."
Scully also described the epiphany of connecting the dots between his love for the family pet and the suffering of farm "animals of comparable feeling and intelligence." "I thought then and believe now that there is a fundamental inconsistency in granting kindness to one while averting my eyes from the suffering - the man-made miseries - of the other."
From "Taking fire at factory farms" Sid Baumel article for IVU News 2003
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