This page is part of a section concerning
Reindeer.
Important please note:
The
following section of articles concerning reindeer is for interest only. I do not condone
the domestication of reindeer under any circumstances,
particularly the slaughter of reindeer for meat. References to
reindeer husbandry, the traditional reindeer herding and
their use as meat, clothing transport and similar issues
are of course included here as part of the information
concerning reindeer. I and many others of a similar
persuasion would like to see the exploitation of
reindeer for meat, skins, entertainment and as other
resources and uses consigned to history forever with a
future where reindeer and other domesticated animals are left to
live out the course of their lives unmolested. In short
this website supports the abolition of the exploitation of all
animals in all circumstances. Please see:
Animal Rights
In Order that this page may be ready separately there is
a small amount of repetition from
Reindeer:Domestication a Short History
However it is recommended that you read
the above webpage
before continuing if you have not already done so.
Click the links below to access pages on the following
topics
This page continues with the subject of the
domestication of reindeer and in additon covers animal
rights issues concerning reindeer herding both commercial
and traditional and various aspects of the
increasing exploitation of reindeer as tourist
attractions and as entertainment, some of which may well
surprise you. Most of the opinions expressed relating to
animal rights will be the opinions upon which this
website is based. In short
Think differently about sheep.com supports animal rights in its strictest
meaning which is the abolition of all animal
exploitation.
To read our position on
:Animal Rights
Reindeer as live Stock
When we think of farming and animal rights the last
animal to come to mind is reindeer. We do not think of
reindeer as a domestic animal in the same way as sheep,
pigs, poultry and cattle. Yet in many parts of the world
that is precisely what they are. In Canada and
Alaska you can buy reindeer sausages, and in Scandinavia
you can buy reindeer meat balls.
Reindeer farming is a growing industry in North America.
The Alberta Reindeer Association is committed to
educating the public about these fascinating creatures
as well as providing unfaltering support for those
involved with their care.
Consider reindeer for ski resorts, lodges and hotels,
cultural events, tree farms and Christmas tree lots,
corporate Christmas parties, summer fairs ... to name a
few. Our members have halter and sled trained reindeer
for you to experience and enjoy.
You can even learn on-line how to start your own reindeer farm:
ehow.com/howstart-reindeer-farm.
and
even visit reindeer farms as tourist attractions.
As incredulous as it may seem reindeer are even farmed in
Japan! Horonobe Reindeer Farm
Most usually associated in many western countries with
Christmas we think little about these animals
considering them to be wild, little touched by human
influence. Few people have knowledge of the
indigenous reindeer herding people such as the Sami who
have subsisted on reindeer for thousands of years, first
by hunting and than by herding. Often referred to as the
reindeer people these nomads have followed the reindeer
on their long migrations protecting them from predators
and killing only a sufficient number for their needs.
Even more relevant though to animal rights is the
present day situation about which there is much
ignorance and that is the extensive herding, or in
reality farming, of reindeer. This involves serious and
significant increase in problems for the timid
gentle reindeer as men on foot and skis, the original
methods used to herd reindeer, have been replaced by
helicopters and snow mobiles causing stress for these
sensitive animals. Free roaming has been replaced by
corralling and fencing to control reindeer, which is
likewise a detriment to their wellbeing. Subsistence has now
been replaced by what can only be called large scale
farming to provide meat and other products, including
such things as aphrodisiacs to Asia, for an ever growing
market of an increasing population. In the modern
world only about ten percent of reindeer herding is done
in the traditional way.
All across northern Eurasia to the Bering Strait,
there are Native peoples who base their economies upon
the herding of reindeer.
As already described in the webpage linked above The Sami
and other indigenous people farm them, round
them up periodically to confirm ownership and take an
annual slaughter for meat and skins.
In additon to the traditional use of reindeer
derivatives of clothing, ropes, bedding and the
winter covering of tents called yarangas and other
personal commodities, modern uses include commercial
sales of meat and hides.
For the Sami people in Sweden reindeer herding is an
exclusive right. Unfortunately much has changed in
modern times:
“Reindeer husbandry is an exclusive
right for the Sami population in Sweden,
but the entry of commercial players has
dramatically altered the way these
gentle animals are treated today, and
not for the
better.”
Roger Petterson, Country Director for
WSPA Sweden.
Indeed much has changed for reindeer
in our modern world and the traditional
raising of these animals for the
purposes of sustainability with the
least degree of distress to them has been
replaced by more commercial processes
with a significant increase in the
amount of reindeer meat marketed.
Today there are large herds of reindeer, for example
between 2 and 3 million reindeer make up herds in
Russia. A total of approximately 800,000 reindeer
make up herds in Norway, Sweden and Finland. A smaller
number of reindeer about 49,000 animals make up herds in
North America where in 1891 reindeer herding was
introduced by Sheldon Jackson who brought 16 animals
from Siberia. The idea was to try and prevent the
periodic starvation of the Aleut and Eskimos along the
northern coast and also to provide them with a resource
by which means they could enter into the money driven
western economy. Scandinavian families relocated to
Alaska to provide instruction in reindeer herding which
peaked in the 1930s with populations of over 600,000
animals but declined to only 50,000 in the 1950s as a
consequence of lack of interest in herding, predation
and wild caribou herds. Many herders lost reindeer to
wild herds of caribou as their animals followed
their wild counterparts on their long annual migrations.
Today reindeer herding in this region is even less
prevalent, however reindeer and reindeer herding
continue throughout Alaska, approximately
two-thirds of the estimated 18,000 reindeer in the state
are found on the Seward Peninsula were the industry
is owned by local Alaskan Native corporations or by
Native Village governments In accordance with the 1937
Reindeer Act.
To improve the management, herds are monitored. For the
most part Reindeer graze on public land which makes up
the majority of the land on the Seward Peninsula for
which reindeer herders are granted grazing rights. Most
of these areas are fenceless and often without roads for
essay access, contact with the herd is impossible at
certain times of year. This has resulted in the loss of
the semi domesticated herd as they mingle with the
caribou as mentioned earlier. In order to gain some
control over the situation of reindeer who roam freely for
most of the year, twice annually reindeer herders have
corralling or handlings, at such times reindeer
are moved to the corral on foot, or by an ATV
(all-terrain vehicle) or herded by helicopter, a
frightening experience for these timid gentle creatures.
It has to be
said of course that although the former intensive
traditional reindeer herding, as opposed to the more
prevalent present day extensive herding, was of considerably less detriment to
reindeer it is not without cruel aspects of course.
Finding information concerning the farming of reindeer
is so difficult on the internet or elsewhere that you
could easily be led to believe that at the present time
the exploitation of these animals is minimal and nothing
much has changed since time immemorial and the
romanticised following of the herds by nomads,
information about which is more abundant, can almost seem
idyllic. As already mentioned most people are unaware of the nomadic
indigenous people of Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia
and the role that reindeer play in their lives. Despite
the slaughter of some of the herd for meat and skins at
subsistence levels, reindeer herding may to some people
appear acceptable in the cause of preserving
tradition and culture. Such comments as
"the hunt for these animals is a part of the traditional
lifestyle"
and
"The
Samis have practised reindeer herding from time
immemorial"
imply that this is acceptable because it is traditional
as though this provides some irrefutable justification.
Consequently amongst the rhetoric of culture, tradition
and heritage the suffering of reindeer may be
overlooked. Some Sami traditions require that
reindeer are killed by inserting a knife directly into
the heart while the animal is still conscious contrary
to the law in Norway which requires that the animal
should be unconscious before death to prevent
unnecessary suffering .During a court case in
Norway the herder argued through his lawyer that this
method of slaughter was an age old customary tradition.
*3)
Behind the
facade of tradition if you dig
a little deeper in many cases you will find today a considerable industry is based upon the exploitation of
reindeer far beyond that of mere subsistence. The
reality is that even amongst the dwindling traditional
reindeer herders that remain reindeer are not always treated like pets,
companions or connections to a higher spiritual state
as legend would have it, but as farm animals who
like all farm animals will eventually be slaughtered for
their meat, skins and other products. In many ways this makes reindeer no
different from any other farm animal with the exception
that reindeer are not confined to a factory farm.
Contemporary reindeer farming has become a multinational
industry that profits from the breeding and killing of
these animals much like any other more familiar farm
animal.
It is
considered that reindeer herding is important in
cultural terms rather than purely economic, The Livonian
Area of northern Sweden has been recognized by UNESCO as
a World Heritage Site due to its significance in the
Sami people's continuing dependence on this traditional
lifestyle. Yet one has to wonder whether economics in
the modern world have taken precedence in importance
when the production of reindeer meat worldwide
totals around 25,000-30,000 metric tonnes. It may come
as rather a surprise to find reindeer available in tins
as meatballs, an ingredient in stews and so on.
Sautéed reindeer is a traditional meal in Lapland.
Reindeer sausages are sold in supermarkets
in both Alaska and Finland. All of the reindeer's
internal organs are eaten and as already mentioned
antlers are powdered and sold as an aphrodisiac and as a
nutritional or medicinal supplement to Asian markets for
which there is much demand. The hides continue to
provide an extensive variety of clothing both
traditional and modern.
The notion that nomads treat their animals as though
they share a kind of bond sustaining one another in the
struggle for survival is, in some instances, an
erroneous assumption created by wishful thinking.
Although the importance of the
reindeer has changed little for the Sami and other
similar nomadic people over thousands of years most
certainly in more recent times the role played by
reindeer has undergone considerable transformation as
the Sami people and their way of life has changed as a
result of the pressures of modern societies, they like
many indigenous people have been forced to adapt and
change.
At the beginning of the twentieth century reindeer
exploitation became more widespread and intensive as the
production of meat became of more importance. The Sami
reindeer herders introduced modern innovations during
the 1960s including the use of snow mobiles and helicopters
in their work with reindeer and herders now no longer
walk or ski with their animals, herding now requires larger areas
and reindeer become frightened and forced to flea from
natural pastures.
The Sami and others like them have gone from hunting
only wild reindeer as a means of subsistence towards a
more controlled herding by using the above mentioned
innovations
making a substantial profit each autumn rather than
merely surviving. By doing so much has changed for
reindeer to their detriment. This of course is a
generalisation and there are still nomads who may
continue with traditional herding practices. However, as
already mentioned, this does not imply that reindeer
were consistently treated humanely. The chuckchi
people, more about whom you will read later, treated their reindeer harshly in the
course of breaking them in by tying
their legs, often for several days at a time until they
were broken in and ready to pull a sledge.
Mention should be made of the reindeer/caribou in North
America and Greenland, although they are neither
domesticated or herded in the same way as their
counterparts in Scandinavian countries
they are hunted by the Inuit
and the Kalaallit, the indigenous peoples
of Alaska and Greenland respectively. Their
are a
significant number of reindeer farms
throughout Alaska which also serve as
tourist attractions. In fact if reindeer
farming in Alaska is entered in any internet search engine numorous links provide
examples of a surprising large number of
farms and tourist attractions.
Likewise in Canada and the USA. Reindeer
farming is far more prevalent than many
people realise. The greatest threat of reindeer exploitation
it seems comes from modern society.
Reindeer keeper in Swedish Lapland
This video shows the reality of life for reindeer
exploited by contemporary Sami when the time comes for
them to be killed for their meat and skins
The caption included with the Video reads:
Meet the
Lapps
separate
their
reindeers
before the
butchering.
A powerful
spectacle
when 4-5000
reindeers
and hundreds
of reindeer
breeders are
collected in
order to
part's label
calves and
to choose
out the
reindeers
that will go
to
butchering.
I would describe this rather as a sad spectacle than a
"powerful" one with its implication of something
momentous, inspiring.
There is no justification for such brutality towards
another creature. Nothing can justify treating an animal
in this way by dragging him along by his antlers and
towards the end lifting him up by his hind leg. Despite
all the Romanticising about connections with their
animals by indigenous people this is plain and simple
cruelty.
Tradition and culture, what little remains of it
concerning reindeer herding cannot be used to justify
cruelty, cruelty is cruelty and is not migrated by any
circumstance of time or place. While indigenous people wish
to keep their traditions, and for the most part this
should be respected, traditions involving
cruelty have to be consigned to history if we as human
beings ever hope to be truly ethical, if we ever hope to
belong to a caring world where no creature suffers for
the sake of profit or tradition or vagaries of appetite.
Traditions are quickly abandoned for other reasons, note
none of the people in the video are in traditional
clothing. Tradition can no longer be used as an excuse
for barbarous cruelty. Somewhere along the way tradition has been abandoned
otherwise we would all still be living in caves.
Like all pursuits in life, including modern lifestyles,
tradition and culture is worthy and desirable for those
so inclined just as long at it causes no harm to anyone
else, including other animals with whom we share this
planet, who just like you or I simply wish to live and
enjoy their time in the sun that nature allows. I have a
respect for the culture of indigenous people and feel a
certain sadness for the way in which many such people
have been forced into accepting modern lifestyles, in
some cases by the use of extreme and abusive methods.
Nonetheless it is time now for the universal abolition
of all exploitation of animals in all circumstances. For
the first time in history it is probably possible to
avoid all exploitation of animals including reindeer. Perhaps
in ancient times there was a need to exploit reindeer as
no other food was accessible in this hostile climate when
during the winter months food and other commodities were
not available and reindeer were essential for transport,
shelter and clothing. Times have changed and other
sources of food are available and it is time for the
cessation of the exploitation of reindeer both
traditionally or commercially.
Sami tents
nowadays are made of modern synthetic
fabric. In fact much of the modern world
has crept into traditional practices.
Tradition can no longer be used as an
excuse to perpetuate the exploitation of
reindeer.
Notice that the perspective views the
exploitation of reindeer, including the
use of modern innovations of snow
mobiles and corralling, as being of
assistance to reindeer rather than a
detriment. Also note the implication
that reidneer are not able to manage
their own migration without out human
intervention:
when it is a
warm year and
the snow has
melted, the
reindeer stop
because they
want to eat the
lichen peeking
through.
However, the
Sami drive the
reindeer on so
they can reach
the greener
pastures in time
before the
calves are born.
It is very important to gather the reindeer from the mountains before breeding season starts. When a buck is ready to mate he will chase his group of females up into the mountains and will not allow them to come down before he has mated with them. By this time winter will have set in. This is a time when the Sami must work against the reindeer’s instinct for their own good. They must get their reindeer back over to the mainland before the mating season starts otherwise the crossing of the water will be too cold for the reindeer.
I am sure the
reindeer are
quite capable of
managing their
own migrations
without human
interference in
just the same
way as the
caribou, the
George River
herd, seen in
this
video
An
interesting
account but
rather
romanticized and
far removed from
traditional
methods of
reindeer herding
and subsistence
living.
In Norway reindeer farming in modern times is an industry which
is increasingly becoming more important.
Modern Domestication and farming practices have been and
continue to be of considerable detriment to reindeer.
In Asia different varieties of reindeer have been breed
to accommodate local conditions and human requirements
including Transportation. The Chukchis are an indigenous
people who live on the Chukchi Peninsula and the shores
of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the
Arctic Ocean within the Russian Federation. They have a
breed of reindeer who are the products of a longer period of domestication than most.
The Chukchis may have begun even earlier
to keep larger herds, sometimes numbering thousands, for commercial meat and other
products right from the 17th century as a result of the
arrival of the Russians. At one time the reindeer of the
Chukchis were semi wild and
human urine was used to catch them, a method successful
due to what appears to be a craving on behalf of
reindeer. It was under the Soviet system
that
Chukotkan herders were organised into brigades each
brigade was responsible for between 500 and 2000
reindeer. The larger numbers of reindeer were kept on the Chukotsk Peninsula and their annual migrations to
the west were discontinued. On the Peninsula the winters
are harsh and their are no forests; in 1984 nearly half
of the reindeer died.
In more recent times
In Sweden and Finland, reindeer have been subjected to
immense suffering during large-scale round-ups and
slaughter. Watch the video below from WSPA which shows
massive herds of reindeer being round up by commercial
slaughter houses and slaughtered for their meat in
Sweden and Finland. Such is far removed from the notion
of ingenious reindeer herding nomads who raise and tend
small herds and causing minimal harm to these animals.
In the last couple of decades this has changed
drastically as the reindeer industry expanded and became
more commercial. This is full scale exploitation of
these timid gentle animals for their meat and other
resources. During every stage of what is increasingly a
commercial process reindeer, as you can see by
looking at the video are subjected to enormous suffering, fear and callous cruelty, all of which was contrary
to Sweden's animal welfare laws.
A new investigative video from
WSPA shows massive herds of reindeer being corralled,
transported and slaughtered for their meat in Sweden.
The footage details the immense suffering
and extreme fear inflicted upon the reindeer at every
stage of the increasingly-commercial process as the
reindeer are frightened, mishandled and physically
harmed -- all of which is contrary to existing animal
welfare laws in both countries. This cruelty cannot be
allowed to continue.
Sign this petition calling members of the
Nordic Council of Ministers to uphold the Växjö
Declaration and enforce existing animal welfare laws.
“The film that we are
showing is particularly shocking now that Christmas is
upon us, but it clearly shows the cruel reality that
reindeer are exposed to,”
Roger Pettersson, secretary general of WSPA Sweden
The video clearly shows the mistreatment of reindeer as
these gentle placid creatures are roughly handled as
they are dragged, pushed and shoved into trucks packed
so tightly together that their antlers harm other
reindeer close by .It should be noted that reindeer and
horned animals take deliberate care in the wild to avoid
accidental damage to fellow members of the herd with
antlers or horns. In
additon their antlers get caught in the side of the
truck causing considerable pain. Antlers are not dead
bone but are filled with nerves and blood vessels and at
times extremely sensitive to touch. At the slaughter
house the animals are killed one by one with knives.
“Once on these
densely-packed loading trucks,
reindeers’ iconic antlers become
potentially lethal as they get
entangled, trapping their heads against
the side of the truck or accidentally
goring each other,”
Rodger
Petterson.
Before being killed at the
slaughter house many reindeer face starvation and
illness as a result of neglect and improper care.
The good
news is that thanks to a huge response to campaigns
including petitions by WSPA
WSPA and the internet
environment group
Care2 Swedish Minister for Rural Affairs
confirmed that the slaughter methods used on reindeer go
against Swedish welfare laws and he will take the all
necessary actions to better the lives of reindeer
throughout the region by establishing animal welfare
programs in Sweden for reindeer and reinstating animal
protection laws along with an assurance that these cruel
methods of handling and slaughtering should be stopped
immediately.
While this is a substantial improvement, that is if
these regulations are not violated, the ideal is for a
cessation of any type of exploitation of reindeer to
allow them to live their lives in their natural
environment without negative interference by man, by
either nomads or commercial concerns. In other words
zero interference.
Below you can read about reindeer and the
many and various ways in which they are exploited world wide.
Reindeer Meat Sold in the
UK at Christmas
Can you imagine telling your children about Santa Claus
and his eight reindeer who pull the sleigh that brings
them their Christmas presents and than serve reindeer
for dinner?
Its
hard to understand such a mind set is it not, such a
bizarre incongruity. You can't imagine this can you.
Well Lidl can!
In the UK Lidl a German supermarket sold reindeer steaks during the run up to
Christmas 2011.
Reindeer in Nordic regions are caused significant stress when these gentle
timid wild animals are rounded up with snowmobiles and even helicopters. Most of
these animals are young and have never seen their first snow fall
"Christmas is supposed to remind us of peace and goodwill - and the rest of the
animal kingdom could do with a taste of it, rather than being tasted," said a
spokesperson for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "The idea of
'Rudolph' being slaughtered and sliced into steaks for a novelty Christmas
dinner is revolting.”
"Animal rights campaigners have criticised
Lidl for selling reindeer that are, according to Uppsala University in Sweden,
often herded using non-traditional techniques such as snowmobiles and motorbikes
which causes the animals distress and muscle wastage."
Backlash after budget supermarket Lidl
launches reindeer meat for Christmas
"'Reports show that up to 70 per cent of reindeer killed for meat are calves.'
Mr Kerswell said that Siberian reindeer were often herded by snowmobile,
motorbikes and even helicopters, which causes the animals high levels of stress.
'This and lassooing them cause huge distress. They can become so distraught
their muscle can waste away,' he said.
According to research in the Polar Research journal, the numbers of reindeer
in Siberia has declined dramatically since the post-Soviet era.
Mr Kerswell added: 'Commercialising"reindeer in the West may put numbers
under further risk
The health of reindeer are often compromised as the
traditions of nomads and their relationship with
reindeer are capitalised upon as tourist attractions.
Some nomadic people make considerable money during the
short tourist season from tourists who wish to take
photographs. This use of reindeer has a detrimental
facet; as a result of their exploitation in this way
reindeer are prevented from migrating to higher
mountain tundra where they need to take advantage of the
abundance of vegetarian to prepare them for the winter
with the consequence of undermining their health.
Reindeer are taken from their natural environment, removed from their herd ,
transported over long distances to temperate climates, for which they are not
adapted, to live with perhaps only one or two other reindeer or even worse
alone in confinement in artificial conditions such as a car park in Finland, a
toy shop In London, an art gallery in Berlin and a Christmas tree lot in
California. All such actions involve obvious cruelty to reindeer, yet little is
said. it was quite a task tracking down the information that appears below.
Christmas is a time when the mistreatment of reindeer is brought to the
public attention yet in countries throughout the west and no doubt elsewhere,
reindeer just like any other exotic animal are exploited, exhibited in zoos and
circuses on a daily basis. But there are less known instances of exploitation
such as the aforementioned art exhibition in Germany about which you may read
more further down.
Enter a search on the internet and you will find websites advertising reindeer
for hire, here is an example:
Live Reindeer for Christmas Events & Parties, Schools Visits, Home Visits,
Parades
Reindeer Imported to Britain are dying
after exposure to diseases from farm animals
An article in the Sunday Times reports that reindeer imported into the UK (
an estimated number of 500 in five years for hiring out for Christmas parades
and Santa's grotto) are suffering premature death as a result of exposure to
diseases from farm animals including a young reindeer dying of malignant
catarrhal fever (a disease from sheep), seven reindeer contracting liver and gut
flukes, a deer dying of lung infections and another of copper deficiency and
parasites. A sharp increase in the death rate of young reindeer also results
from an unsuitable diet, poor welfare and stress as a result of being removed
from their natural environment.
During the period before Christmas 2010 reindeer where
bought into Hamleys Toy shop to promote Christmas and
increase sales of toys. During their exhibition the
reindeer were kept in a 4 metre square enclosure, fed
unnatural food from a plastic container and poked by
children. Where did the reindeer come from? The store
was reluctant to say.
These aren't my greatest work. I took them tonight at
Hamleys, the store in the centre of London which is
using them to flog toys at Christmas. And when
they have finished with them they are getting in some
penguins. I am a (redacted) lump of stone, big lump of a
bloke, yet I have a tear in my eye as I look back at
them and think about what this company is doing in the
name of profits this Christmas.
That, and the fact I was using a compact camera, with a
flash, and with the "bouncers" nearby , probably
explains the appalling quality of these images, but I
guess you re not here to see beauty. There is
nothing beautiful about this. It's crass and stupid and
selfish and cruel and horrid and abusive. In summery
it's just plain wrong
In November 2010 an exhibition by artist Carsten Höller
using twelve live reindeer along with mice and
canaries took place at Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof
contemporary art museummuseum. The artist apparently was
inspired by a verse in Hindu scripture
“We have drunk of the soma; we have become immortal, we
have seen the light; we have found the Gods.”
The main ingredient to this enlightening potion
has it seems been lost. In 1968 American banker and
amateur mycologist Gordon R. Wasson
suggested that the red and white poisonous
fly Amanita mushroom which reindeer eat and which could
be ingested by drinking their urine may be the lost
ingredient. With this concept in mind Höller created a
huge dual sided exhibition in two halves of the Museum's
huge hall where the reindeer and other animals are
displayed on one side to represent the “normal world,”
and the other side a scene from the psychedelic “realm
of soma.”
However artistic, original or creative is irrelevant and
a matter of taste, the point however is that the
exhibition uses reindeer and the other animals in an
exploitive way by subjecting them to an unnatural and
stressful environment.
Reindeer where kept in car park in
Rovaniemi Finland over the Christmas period until
Epiphany 2010 as a tourist
attraction. Cars were removed to the floor below.
Reindeer numbering
about six, according to cicumstacnes on the day, would be exposed to petrol fumes and removal into a stressful and unnatural environment would cause
suffering.
According to Adjunct Professor Mauri Nieminen, who works
as a senior researcher at the Finnish Game and Fisheries
Research Institute, the reindeer park marks a new nadir
in reindeer herding degradation.
”A parking garage full of petrol fumes is not a natural
environment for reindeer but is bound to cause suffering
to those animals”, Nieminen charges.
A reindeer found roaming loose in a California
strawberry field was also exploited in a similar manner
in the run up to Christmas and was on display in a
Christmas tree lot. Allegedly the reindeer experienced
no harm. The reindeer however in my opinion looks
stressed as she is captured. You can see for yourself by
watching the video below
Does not one see this as cruel? The event meant to
emulate the equally cruel Spanish tradition of running
with the bulls involves crowds of loud people
numbering anything from 7000 to a thousand dressed in
various costume, or in some cases barely half dressed
despite the bitter cold of an Alaskan winter, race along
side a half dozen or so reindeer.
Here is one report
Seven little
reindeer, looking a bit bewildered,
stood next to their handlers as a
crowd of roughly 1,000 costumed
runners chatted excitedly at the
start.
The reindeer were
lined up behind the first heat of
runners — several hundred women in
costume. One had taped a paper
bulls-eye to her back. Others
masqueraded as carrots and lichen,
both favorite foods of reindeer.
At the signal to
go, the reindeer stampeded into the
crowd...
Might seem
amusing to the crowd but I wonder
how the timid gentle reindeer feel?
Importation of
Reindeer into the UK with tragic
consequences
In recent years
reindeer have become popular amongst
British farmers, looking for ways to
make money from their land they have now
been enticed by the prospect of
making money from reindeer, with the
result that more and more
reindeer are being imported into the
country. For migratory animals
taken from their natural habit where
for the most part they are free to
wander life in the UK and similar
countries is a misery and a health
hazard for these subarctic dwelling
animals . They are bought to hire
out for parties, shops, garden
centres and other seasonal tourist
attractions.
After Christmas what happens to
them?
A good question
and one well answered in the article
in the Daily Mail
"The truth is that large numbers of
these imported reindeer live a
miserable existence for the rest of
the year. "
"Dr John Fletcher, the pioneer of
deer farming in Britain and founder
of the Veterinary Deer Society,
says: 'The trouble is that people
start off seeing money, and finish
up with reindeer dying simply from
bad management.
'If they don't take advice or
don't call in a vet, owners should
be prosecuted.'
There are many problems with the
way they are often kept in the UK.
Reindeer are sold in ones and twos,
yet they are herd animals and need
contact with other reindeer.
Because a diet of grass can be
bad for them (owners often feed them
on specially prepared pellets), many
are kept all year round in tiny
sheds and yards.
In fact, in the wild, reindeer
are active and range over many
thousands of acres of clean browsing
land.
But if they are kept in a small
area, their hooves can grow too long
and they can become infested with
worm parasites carried by domestic
animals.
It should be remembered, too,
that these deer are Arctic animals.
In the view of some experts,
lowland, southern England is
unsuitable for them because it is
too warm."
It is astonishing that in the twenty first century there
are individuals who hunt animals simply for pleasure and
that moreover the laws of every nation allow it. Along
with many more familiar creatures who are hunted
reindeer too are brutally hunted down and killed for
simple sadistic pleasure. What else can it be, of all
the heinous and brutal atrocities humans commit against
other animals hunting has to be right up there perhaps
along with animal experiments as the most barbarous
mistreatment of our fellow creatures imaginable.
A search on the internet for hunting caribou and
reindeer, who both by the way are the same species
caribou being an American name for reindeer, and you
will find numorous websites offering caribou hunting
holidays and hunting associations
You can hunt trophy reindeer on St. George with great
success as the island is relatively small and accessible
by foot. Some of the largest reindeer anywhere in Alaska
are found here. Local guides are available to set up
hunts, transportation, and other logistics.
What possible pleasure can be derived from hunting down
helpless gentle animals in any place or circumstance but
trapped here in this small island what chance do these
poor creatures have, they 're sitting ducks. The
advertisement even emphasis this point.
It is sad that
so called civilised societies allow such dreadful
cruelty to other sentient beings . It is even worse when
people of this mentality take an active role in
politics. What hope is there if even politicians take
delight in hunting another sentient being, such as the
American politician Sarah Palin. In this case what makes
matters worse in addition to an unsettling feeling of
unease, if not outright alarm that someone capable of such
barbaric cruelty is so prominent in politics as the
former governor and vice presidential candidate, is that
a woman finds pleasure in hunting. Why that is more
shocking may be considered sexist however such a sense
of shock arises
from the fact that in the main women usually outnumber
men in the support of animal welfare and rights.
Seen in the reality show Sarah Palin's Alaska, Palin is
filmed shooting and killing a caribou.
Her comments that most Alaskans need to hunt to stock up
their freezers for the winter is in modern times simply
ludicrous.
“Hunting is
something most Alaskans do to fill their freezer with
meat for the winter,”
Sarah
Palin quoted in the above article.
"Most
Alaskans"
! Hard to imagine isn't it.
Her comment
towards the end of the article is more near to the
truth:
“When
you see that you have a successful hit, it’s a great
feeling of accomplishment.”
If murdering
an helpless animal gives Palin and others of her
persuasion a
sense of achievement there are indeed some sad sick
people in the world. The thought of Palin as a potential
presidential candidate is worrying.
Since compassion for animals is so intimately associated
with goodness of character, it may be confidently
asserted that whoever is cruel to animals cannot be a
good man(or a good
women). Italics mine
Arthur
Schopenhauer
On the
Basis of Morality
It is time that hunting was banned in any nation that
wishes to be considered civilised:
The greatness
of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the
way its animals are treated
Mahatma Gandhi
Canada also
has its share of Caribou hunting trips and again an
internet search may well surprise you how prevalent such
businesses are that felicitate hunting including
clothing suppliers, one of which boosts that their 15,000
customers choose them as outfitting suppliers for
fishing and caribou hunting. Yes hunting
reindeer is big business and much money is made from
this cruelty and the perverted pleasure of those who
participate.
In additon to
Alaska and Canada reindeer hunting takes place the world
over and so called reindeer trophy hunting trips or
"hunting safaris" as one travel agency refers to these
sadistic escapades, organises trips to such places as
Iceland gssafaris.com/destinations/reindeer-hunting.
Whether it is greedy exploitative farmers here in the
UK, hunting in the USA and elsewhere, art exhibitions,
reindeer herding Sami or other
indigenous people, full scale farming and so on it is time to leave reindeer alone to
live their lives as nature intended. There are few
creatures who escape from the detrimental effect of
human beings who it appears perceive every creature who
draws breath as a means of exploitation, for food which
we no longer need, clothing, labour or entertainment
mainly for one reason only and that is profit and greed.
Read more about animal rights
Animal Rights on this website
Sadly Rudolf and his reindeer companions normally
associated with Christmas and the giving of presents is
a much exploited and abused animal, exploitation which is
unfortunately becoming far more common.
When you take your children to the Christmas reindeer
display or parade or into your city's big toy shop to
see reindeer in Santa's grotto, or buy reindeer meat or
other product think carefully about what you are
condoning, namely the exploitation and misery of these
beautiful gentle creatures who thrilled our imagination
when we were children with their flight through the
skies on their Christmas eve mission. Imagination
is a wonderful thing do we really need to see a reindeer
confined in a shop far way from his natural environment
mostly kept in unsuitable conditions the rest of the
year. Most certainly we do not need to farm and eat
reindeer or any other animal.
The above is
only a sample of the many ways in which reindeer are
exploited. The exploitation of reindeer is far more extensive than I
realised when beginning this series of pages featuring
reindeer. Yet other than the recent WSPA campaign and a
campaign by VIVA last Christmas 2010 concerning the
selling of meat in Lidl there appears to be little
specific action you can take concerning reindeer and some
of the abuses mentioned above which although not
mentioned obviously includes confinement in Zoos the
world over.
If you wish to
do something about the plight of reindeer or any other
animal you can always approach any of the animal rights
groups included in the following webpage:
I am not an
animal expert of any kind just your average person who
loves animals, all animals, and feels deeply about the
plight of many of our fellow creatures. Neither am I a
writer, or any other expert. Therefore please keep in
mind that the information included in this website has
been researched to the best of my ability and any
misinformation is quite by accident but of course
possible.
