For me, it was pretty horrific to read about the pregnant cow who was shot Tuesday for freaking out at the California State Fair. So, I was a little relieved when I read this morning's paper that animal advocates showed up yesterday at the Fair to voice their opposition. It's good to know that people care and are willing to protest. Because the guys taking care of the cows were obviously unprepared to handle an emergency situation. They didn't think that far ahead or that cow and her baby would not be dead.
The police did what police are trained to do. Shoot to protect the public. Can't really blame them. But I can blame the people who were responsible for the health and safety of the pregnant cows. And the people who decided that the "miracle of birth" belongs on exhibition at the State Fair in Sacramento. When I was a kid, we didn't truck off to the Minnesota State Fair to watch calves being born. Nope, they stuffed our first-grade class on a bus and took us out to the country. I eagerly jumped off the bus, took a good strong whiff of the country air and vomited my guts into the dirt.
They put me back on the bus and made me sit there by myself while all the other kids got to go see the cows. When my classmates returned to the bus, one of them was kind enough to bring me a souvenir of the class trip: a small plastic cow. I didn't want a stinkin' plastic cow. I wanted to touch and look at real cows. I was very disappointed.
My mother, in an effort to show me where meat comes from, hauled me and my siblings off to a meat packing plant in Johnsville, Minnesota. We watched cow and pig bodies hung upside down from a conveyor belt move slowly past a glass window. They didn't much resemble cows or pigs. They certainly didn't look anything like the meat products in the refrigerated display cases at the store.
So, to this day I eat meat. I'm not a vegetarian. Although, many of my close friends are vegetarians and vegans. But I can tell you this, if I had to personally slaughter an animal for food, no question about it -- I'd never eat meat again. Still, it saddens me greatly to think about the dead cow and her baby. I hope precautions are put into place so this horrible incident never happens again, even if it means discontinuing some of the miracle-of-birth exhibits at the State Fair.
You can make contributions to the Humane Society of the United States, if you like.
No photo today
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Certified HAFA Specialist
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Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
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