PETA wants public slaughter of oxen

The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have asked Green Mountain College administrators to allow the public to see the slaughter of the college’s two oxen, Bill and Lou.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20121106/NEWS01/711069905

PETA wants public slaughter of oxen By Lucia Suarez STAFF WRITER | November 06,2012 POULTNEY — The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have asked Green Mountain College administrators to allow the public to see the slaughter of the college’s two oxen, Bill and Lou. Ryan Huling, manager of college campaigns and outreach for PETA, sent an email Monday to college Provost William Throop and Kenneth Mulder, the college’s farm manager, saying that the college cannot “hide the killing behind closed doors” but should allow the students and public to witness their death. “We urge you with great urgency to make the compassionate decision to spare the lives of Bill and Lou,” Huling continued in the email. “But if you move forward with the slaughter, you should, as educators, at the very least use this injustice as a learning opportunity.” He added, “We live in a changing world, one in which animals are afforded considerations that they might have been denied in the past. It is time to acknowledge this and give Bill and Lou the opportunity to live out the rest of their lives in peace after having worked at Green Mountain College for 10 years.” In a statement, college spokesman Kevin Coburn did not comment on PETA’s email specifically, but said the college’s decision to process the oxen was reached through extensive conversations on campus and consider it an internal decision among students, faculty and staff. “We have, and will continue to have, conversations that consider a broad range of animal rights and animal liberation perspectives,” Coburn said in the statement. “Above all we encourage students to consider different points of view, and arrive at their own conclusions about the ethics of slaughtering farm animals.” The 11-year-old oxen worked at the college’s organic Cerridwen Farm for 10 years but were retired this summer after Lou injured his back leg and declared unable to continue to work. College administrators opened the discussion to students and the majority supported the slaughter of the longtime farm workers. As soon as the college announced its decision, a number of groups expressed their concerns including an animal sanctuary in Springfield called Veganism is the New Evolution, or VINE, which offered to take the retired oxen at no cost to the college. Several petitions were launched, reaching audiences across the world, pleading for the college to reverse its position and spare the oxen. The college was bombarded with emails, letters, phone calls and messages on Facebook, but GMC stood behind its decision. On the day scheduled for the slaughter, Oct. 31, the college decided to postpone after discovering that several local slaughterhouses — most of them being small and family owned — had been bombarded with threats as well. A new date has not been set.