A somber thought on feeder animals.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Life feeds on life. The food that nourishes us was once alive. The fact that others do the killing for us changes nothing.
Pythons kill their prey quickly--in most cases, much more quickly than merely suffocating it would accomplish. It is an uncomfortable and frightening, but probably not excessively painful, death. I don't think cattle entering into the chute are happy about it, either.

It's good to honor the animals that feed our pets, or us, but there is no reason to feel guilty about it. This is the way nature has evolved--it's what they are, and it's what we are. There is nothing wrong with it.
Let your feelings become respect for the animals that die to feed your pets (and yourself, unless you are a vegetarian--and even then, plants are alive too). Prey animals deserve respect and compassion, but predators still require them in order to live, and that's right as well.

Don't distance yourself from these things--buying a ham at the supermarket is so much easier than putting a bolt into the head of a live pig, but the act is exactly the same, make no mistake about that. The pig is just as dead.

Sometimes I think that modern society is not only becoming a bit 'soft', but also losing touch with reality--I think all folks should have to butcher their own food at some point, in order to really understand what life is. Becoming a vegan just avoids the issue, as if plant life were somehow worth less than animal life.

Anyhow, consider all of that, as you gently slice into a nice juicy steak.