I am too soft hearted

Yesterday I went to buy hay and saw a sight that reminded me why I don’t raise our own meat. My hay supplier is also a rancher that raises Angus beef cattle. Occasionally I happen to be buying hay at his warehouse when I see off in the distance the processing truck that comes around to butcher and cut up his beef cattle. I usually see the cow long after the process has been done and see only the hanging beef side, the kind you see in the butcher’s freezer. Yesterday the weather was nasty and I guess the truck had trouble getting to the cattle barn. The butcher’s truck was next to the driveway where I had to go to get the hay. I had to drive slow and saw a gruesome sight. Two cows had already had been killed and skinned but had not been cut up yet. The hoofs and head of one of them where laying right next to where I had to drive and I still remember the face of the cows dismembered head. Both bodies where still steaming. I thankfully had not arrived sooner than I did. I know I should be more emotionally stronger but I teared up over the matter.

Because of that incident it reminds me why I cannot raise and kill my own food animals. I have no problem eating meat, it is just that I had better not know them before they died so I could eat. My husband at one time wanted to raise a pig for us to kill and eat. I told him that I had no problem with it as long as I did not see the animal nor feed it. I know that my husband is slightly lazy when it comes to animal chores and he fully expected me to feed the pig – he dropped the matter.

I don’t mind raising chickens for their eggs and have done so in the past. I also would not mind having fibre animals strictly raised for their hair such as sheep or llamas just keep me away from raising and becoming attached to my dinner.