Truth In the Timing

The release earlier this month by the HSUS of an undercover video displaying animal abuse at a Wyoming hog farm was disturbing on numerous levels, to those within the animal agriculture industry, and those who are not. Sadly, animal agriculture is not immune to having some of its members behave badly any more than the educational, religious, or medical fields are. But unlike other industries, when an animal agriculture person does something wrong it is instantly assumed that all those in the industry are of a similar breed. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The shocking display of abuse on that video sickened those in the animal ag industry for many reasons. First and foremost for the possibility of the alleged abuse itself. Next was the fact that the alleged abuse was held “undercover” for several months before anything was released or done about it. Why was the anonymous tip given to the HSUS instead of to the local authorities? And why if the major concern here was for the animals did the “undercover” investigator” do nothing to stop the abuse as it was happening? If it were really about the animals, the HSUS would not have waited for just the right time for their political positioning to release the video.