Calf 269

Last updated
Calf 269, May 2012 269life3.jpg
Calf 269, May 2012
269Life founder Sasha Boojor with Calf 269 269life1.jpg
269Life founder Sasha Boojor with Calf 269

Calf 269 is a bull who was rescued as a calf by anonymous activists, days before his planned slaughter. He was born at an Israeli facility in the vicinity of Azor, a town on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. The slaughter was scheduled for June 2013. [1] He is described as sweet-tempered and white-headed, and his ear carried a tag numbered 269, indicating he was destined for slaughter. [2] The Israeli protests regarding the calf were followed by protests in the U.K. and other places across the world. The protests aimed at conveying that animal parts eaten as food by humans once belonged to a living individual, who lived a tortured life and faced a brutal death, after which his or her carcass was processed into human food. [3] The significance of the event led to the creation of 269 life  [ fr ], an animal liberation movement founded in October 2012. [4]

Contents

Israeli protests

On the occasion of World Farm Animals Day, (Gandhi's birthday) 2 October 2012, two Israelis, Zohar Gorelik and Sasha Boojor, and one Russian Jewish activist, Oleg Ozerov, had the number 269 branded on their skin with a hot-iron branding tool. Haaretz reports that this branding was an act of fellowship with Calf 269. The branding incident took place at Tel Aviv's Rabin square. The action is considered an attempt to bring to light the mistreatment of animals in the farming sector.

According to Haaretz the treatment of animals would require terminologies applied to the Holocaust in order to adequately describe the situation. [2] The calf's story has inspired a worldwide tattoo movement; at least a thousand individuals have had themselves branded or tattooed with the number 269. In a testimony a tattooed individual who was a tow truck driver narrated that the tattoo reminded one passenger of his grandmother's stories of German concentration camps. [1]

The website 269life.com [5] was created by Boojor following this protest. The protests were an attempt to end the anonymity of millions of animals butchered for human consumption. The website declares, "This anonymous male calf will be forever immortalized on our bodies, and hopefully this message of solidarity will somehow bring a new way of looking at non-human animals." [6]

Protests in the United Kingdom

In the U.K., campaigners, motivated by this action of the Israelis, decided to brand themselves on their chest with the number 269. [7] This took place in front of a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet in Leeds a day before their scheduled protest at the Leeds city centre. One protester was jailed, the police allegedly took away cameras and erased memory cards. A protester who was interviewed justified the protest as a reaction to the extreme cruelty perpetrated by the dairy industry such as shooting calves at birth. [8] Protests in London were organised by Becky Folkard. Folkard said that although the protest might be considered extreme, other methods such as fastening oneself to railings and stopping horses by standing in their way were used by women to force authorities to give them a right to vote. PETA's spokesperson in a statement of support pointed that the suffering endured by non-human animals such as cows, chickens, or pigs when they are branded, have their testicles, beaks or horns cut, is no less than that of humans in a similar situation. [9] Folkard's planned protests have been described as a disturbing community agitation opposing barbarity inflicted on industrial dairy animals. [10]

On September 26, 2015 another hot-iron branding was held in Birmingham. [11]

Response from animal farmers

Joseph Keating, livestock adviser of the National Farmers Union is quoted in a Guardian story as expressing surprise in response to the English protests. According to Keating, branding of animals has been banned in England for many years. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

Kashrut is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the term that in Sephardic or Modern Hebrew is pronounced kashér, meaning "fit". Food that may not be consumed, however, is deemed treif, also spelled treyf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veal</span> Meat of young cattle

Veal is the meat of calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed; however, most veal comes from young male calves of dairy breeds which are not used for breeding. Generally, veal is more expensive by weight than beef from older cattle. Veal production is a way to add value to dairy bull calves and to utilize whey solids, a byproduct from the manufacturing of cheese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Livestock branding</span> Marking livestock to identify the owner

Livestock branding is a technique for marking livestock so as to identify the owner. Originally, livestock branding only referred to hot branding large stock with a branding iron, though the term now includes alternative techniques. Other forms of livestock identification include freeze branding, inner lip or ear tattoos, earmarking, ear tagging, and radio-frequency identification (RFID), which is tagging with a microchip implant. The semi-permanent paint markings used to identify sheep are called a paint or color brand. In the American West, branding evolved into a complex marking system still in use today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human branding</span> Process by which a mark is permanently burned into the skin of a living person

Human branding or stigmatizing is the process by which a mark, usually a symbol or ornamental pattern, is burned into the skin of a living person, with the intention that the resulting scar makes it permanent. This is performed using a hot or very cold branding iron. It therefore uses the physical techniques of livestock branding on a human, either with consent as a form of body modification; or under coercion, as a punishment or to identify an enslaved, oppressed, or otherwise controlled person. It may also be practiced as a "rite of passage", e.g. within a tribe, or to signify membership of or acceptance into an organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal rights movement</span> Animal consideration social movement

The animal rightsmovement, sometimes called the animal liberation, animal personhood, or animal advocacy movement, is a social movement that seeks an end to the rigid moral and legal distinction drawn between human and non-human animals, an end to the status of animals as property, and an end to their use in the research, food, clothing, and entertainment industries.

269 is the natural number between 268 and 270. It is also a prime number.

Animal welfare and rights in Israel is about the treatment of and laws concerning nonhuman animals in Israel. Israel's major animal welfare law is the Animal Protection Law, passed in 1994, which has been amended several times since. Several other laws also related to the treatment of animals: Rabies Ordinance, 1934; Fishing Ordinance, 1937; Public Health Ordinance, 1940; Wildlife Protection Law, 1955; Plants Protection Law, 1956; Criminal Procedure Law, 1982; Animal Disease Ordinance, 1985; National Parks, Nature Reserves, National Sites and Memorial Sites Law, 1991; the Law of Veterinarians, 1991; Dog Regulation Law, 2002; Rabies Regulations (Vaccinations), 2005; and Prohibition on declawing cats unless for reasons vital to the cat's health or owner's health, 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beef cattle</span> Breed of cattle

Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production. The meat of mature or almost mature cattle is mostly known as beef. In beef production there are three main stages: cow-calf operations, backgrounding, and feedlot operations. The production cycle of the animals starts at cow-calf operations; this operation is designed specifically to breed cows for their offspring. From here the calves are backgrounded for a feedlot. Animals grown specifically for the feedlot are known as feeder cattle, the goal of these animals is fattening. Animals not grown for a feedlot are typically female and are commonly known as replacement heifers. While the principal use of beef cattle is meat production, other uses include leather, and beef by-products used in candy, shampoo, cosmetics, and insulin.

Several individuals and groups have drawn direct comparisons between animal cruelty and the Holocaust. The analogies began soon after the end of World War II, when literary figures, many of them Holocaust survivors, Jewish or both, began to draw parallels between the treatment of animals by humans and the treatments of prisoners in Nazi death camps. The Letter Writer, a 1968 short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, is a literary work often cited as the seminal use of the analogy. The comparison has been criticized by organizations that campaign against antisemitism, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, particularly since 2006, when PETA began to make heavy use of the analogy as part of campaigns for improved animal welfare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Yourofsky</span> American animal rights activist

Gary Yourofsky is an American animal rights activist and lecturer. He has had a major influence on contemporary veganism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal identification</span>

Animal identification using a means of marking is a process done to identify and track specific animals. It is done for a variety of reasons including verification of ownership, biosecurity control, and tracking for research or agricultural purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bassem Tamimi</span> Palestinian activist (born 1967)

Bassem Tamimi is a Palestinian grassroots activist and an organizer of protests against Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank. He was convicted by an Israeli military court in 2012 for "sending people to throw stones, and holding a march without a permit".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cattle slaughter in India</span> Aspect of cultural practice

Cattle slaughter in India, especially cow slaughter, is controversial because of cattle's status as endeared and respected living beings to adherents of Dharmic religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. Also, many of the Zoroastrians/Parsis living in India stopped eating beef out of respect, as it is sacred for the people of Dharmic religions; while it is an acceptable source of meat in Abrahamic religions like Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Cow slaughter has been shunned for a number of reasons, specifically because of cow's association with Lord Krishna in Hinduism, and because cattle have been an integral part of rural livelihoods as an economic necessity. Cattle slaughter has also been opposed by various Indian religions because of the ethical principle of Ahimsa (non-violence) and the belief in the unity of all life. Legislation against cattle slaughter is in place throughout most states and territories of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farm Animal Rights Movement</span> International nonprofit organization

Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM) is an international nonprofit organization working to promote a vegan lifestyle and animal rights through public education and grass roots outreach. It operates ten national and international programs from its headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. FARM has the abolitionist vision of a world where animals are free from all forms of human exploitation, including, food and clothing, research and testing, entertainment and hunting. FARM's mission is to spare the largest number of animals from being bred, abused, and slaughtered for food, as this accounts for 98% of all animal abuse and slaughter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Direct Action Everywhere</span> Animal rights organization

Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) is an international grassroots network of animal rights activists founded in 2013 in the San Francisco Bay Area. DxE uses disruptive protests and non-violent direct action tactics, such as open rescue of animals from factory farms. Their intent is to build a movement that can eventually shift culture and change social and political institutions. DxE activists work to "put an end to the commodity status of animals."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tal Gilboa</span> Israeli animal liberation and vegan activist

Tal Gilboa is an Israeli animal liberation and vegan activist. In 2013, she founded the Israeli Animal Liberation Front, renamed ‘Total Liberation’ in 2018. Gilboa won HaAh HaGadol 6, the sixth season of the Israeli version of the reality show Big Brother.

<i>The Ghosts in Our Machine</i> 2013 Canadian documentary film

The Ghosts in Our Machine is a 2013 Canadian documentary film by Liz Marshall. The film follows the photojournalist and animal rights activist Jo-Anne McArthur as she photographs animals on fur farms and at Farm Sanctuary, among other places, and seeks to publish her work. The film as a whole is a plea for animal rights.

Animal welfare and rights in India regards the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in India. It is distinct from animal conservation in India.

<i>Life According to Ohad</i> 2014 Israeli film

Life According to Ohad is a 2014 Israeli biographical documentary about a vegan animal-rights activist named Ohad Cohen. The film highlights Ohad's struggle to reconnect with his family after separating from them for years due to their carnist lifestyle. Eri Daniel Erlich, writer and director, traveled alongside Ohad for three years to capture this documentary in which Ohad undertakes open rescue, chains himself to animal cages in protest, and performs public demonstrations in favor of animal rights. The film was awarded a Special Jury Mention by Docaviv in 2014. The website claims that 25% of profits made by the film are donated to promote research of cultured meat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey Carbstrong</span> Australian animal rights activist, vegan and former criminal

Joseph Dominic Armstrong, known professionally as Joey Carbstrong, is an Australian animal rights activist. A former criminal, he has since become an advocate for animal liberation and veganism through social media and public speaking engagements, as well as debates and various televised interviews.

References

  1. 1 2 Ahituv, Netta (2013-03-21). "The Israeli calf that started a mass tattoo movement". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  2. 1 2 Ranet, Oma (2012-11-12). "Slaughterhouse 269". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  3. "Official "269 life" Facebook page – about". Facebook . Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  4. "269 life on Twitter" . Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  5. "269 Life". 269life.com.
  6. Laylin, Tafline (2013-04-04). "269life Activists Etch and Burn White Calf Branding Number Into Skin". Archived from the original on 8 April 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  7. "Where are people being branded?". The Deccan Chronicle. 2013-01-23. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  8. Starke, Jonathan. "Vegans are branding their flesh in Leeds". Vice. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  9. Osborne, Hannah (2013-01-21). "Animal Rights Activists to Brand Volunteers Like Cattle Using Red Hot Iron". International Business Times. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  10. Shaw, Adrian (2013-01-21). "Burning issue: Volunteers will be branded with a red hot iron to highlight animal rights abuses". Mirror Online. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  11. Lockley, Mike (2015-09-28). "Animal activists endure hot iron branding in front of shocked Birmingham shoppers". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  12. Hickman, Leo (January 21, 2013). "Is human branding an animal-rights stunt too far?". The Guardian. Retrieved April 10, 2013.