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The question over and over again is where is the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the national news media whom have gone silent about the heartland in the last few weeks. There have been wildfires that have killed people, livestock, wildlife, consumed buildings, equipment, hundreds of thousands of acres of grass land and hundreds of miles of fence line. So where are all of the people that say they have the best interest of the animals at heart and they want to do away with animal agriculture production because the animals are not cared for properly?
The simple answer is that there is no money for them in the heartland. No money to be had in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas or Colorado from these wildfires.
The long answer is that they can’t make money off of the truth. The events of late and the response from ranchers and farmers from across the nation flies right in the face of their common business practice of using lies and propaganda to raise funds to line their pockets. Ranchers and farmers across these four states are showing up day after day, hour after hour doing what they have always done, taking care of their livestock and land to the best of their ability. They are heading out individually or with veterinarians in search of animals who survived and determining their mortality. Those that can be saved they are getting them brought back to food, water and the best possible care they can give them and the rest they are humanely destroying because they don’t deserve to suffer. This is what ranchers and farmers have been doing for generations and it completely defies what all of these “humane organizations” would have everyone else believe as the truth.
You see the truth of the matter was exemplified by Sydney, Cody and Sloan when they went out and did their very best to save the cattle on their ranch from one of these wildfires. They sacrificed their own lives trying to save the cattle on their ranch. So much for those “humane organizations” claims that ranchers only care about the money. I didn’t hear about any of them jumping on a plane to one of our fly over states to race head long towards a fire pushed by 50+ mile an hour winds to try and save cattle and I doubt I ever will. There are others that lost their lives doing the same thing and I wish I knew their names and their stories of how they fought for their cattle and ranches because they are truly the heroes of this nightmare.
The firefighters, law enforcement officers, volunteers and neighboring ranchers and farmers who dropped everything to rush to their community or neighboring communities aid is another truth these organizations can’t compete with. You see they would have you believe we are in this for ourselves and if anyone gets in our way we will take them down. That lie is the furthest thing from the truth. Farmers and ranchers are out there shoulder to shoulder taking care of business. A business that is at this time extremely hard to stomach as they head by head total the actual cost of the wildfires. There are a few glimmers of hope here and there with a cow or a calf found alive and well, but losing 80+ percent of your 500-1,000 head of cattle is not an easy pill to swallow.
Some of these strong hard working ranchers and farmers are dealing with all of this while at the same time not knowing where they will sleep tonight because they have lost their homes as well. There are multiple generation families that have lost all their homes, buildings and equipment to these fires. They are tending to their cattle and kids because they need the most care right now. Hour by hour, day by day they are figuring this new way of life out with the help of their neighbors and friends. There are donations of hay, fencing supplies and trucking coming to these areas from across these four states and further. They are coming from fellow ranchers and farmers who know that if they were in the same situations there would be others their stepping up to help.
Even our next generation is stepping up to the plate with 4-H’ers volunteering to take in bottle calves so ranchers affected by the wildfires can focus on rebuilding while at the same time knowing their calves are in good caring hands. You see those who are in the farming community are there for their animals and each other from the youngest tot holding a bottle to feed a calf to the oldest among us sharing advice and strength. And all of this good old fashion love, fight, spunk and resilience has always and is currently being passed down through our generations of ranchers and farmers.
Ranchers and farmers have walked the walk the only way they know how, with God, compassion and a strong love of their businesses. All of this is too much truth and reality that in compasses all of agriculture and the “humane organizations” just can’t compete with the truth.
When you speak and walk the truth you silence your critics.
From one of the sets of boots in the pastures,
Stephanie Symns
