Forbidding Cruelty to Animals T he Bible forbids cruelty to domestic animals. It would be harsh to prevent the ox from eating while work- ing, and consequent- ly Deuteronomy 25:4 reads, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Moreover, Deuteronomy 22:10 sa ys, “Y ou shall not plo w with an ox and an ass together .” Pairin g animals of different sizes and strengths would place a strain on the w eaker of them, or per haps on both. Contrast these ancient laws that sought to r educe animal suf - ferin g with moder n-da y factor y farming practices. Today, for exam- ple, farmers take calves raised for v eal fr om their mothers at birth, deny the calv es their mother ’ s milk, and deliberately depriv e the calves of iron. Farmers often keep the calves their entire lives in crates so narrow that they cannot turn around. These circumstances render the calves’ muscles soft and anemic, making the flesh tender and lightly colored. Such treat- ment is incompatible with the Bible’ s teachin gs
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 23:01:42 +0000