So there’s a really stupid page on FB called dairy farms exposed and they made this post not that long ago….
People. Cannulas do help with nutrition research. Because we kinda want to make sure cows’ food is easily digestible and nutritious for them. The absolute horror.
Also cannulas allow for ruminal fluid to be taken from the rumens of healthy cows and put into sick cows to replenish rumen bugs.
Cannulas don’t hurt cows!! They’re put in under anesthesia!! It’s just science!!
“Because we kinda want to make sure cows’ food is easily digestible and nutritious for them.”
Are you fucking serious?
If the food you’re giving them is so damn questionable for a grazing ruminant that you actually have to put a hole in a cow’s stomach to make sure they’re healthy, and if you can’t see the health of your animals by day-to-day physical inspection, then you’re a fucking idiot, or you have no experience with animals.
And then claiming it’s alright because “It’s just science!!”……….. No. Science is a method by which you study cause and effect, it’s not a justification for cruel research.
I don’t care if it doesn’t hurt or if they’re doped up and don’t feel it (more cheap justifications). This is wrong. You don’t put holes in animal stomachs. These aren’t machines to optimize, they’re living beings to be cared for and then milked or eaten.
I’m sorry, but how is it wrong to optimize your yield? Even if that yield is an animal product like milk or meat. I know cannulas look gross, but as long as they aren’t put there at the expense of the animals’ welfare, I really can’t see the problem. The goal of the procedure isn’t much different than the goal of genetic modification or selective breeding or testing new types of feed – it’s all about optimizing yield.
A cannula is nowhere near as invasive of a surgery as it looks. Ask any person who’s had an ostomy (different placement and cause, but both essentially involve an artificial opening in the body). During the operation, which only takes about 1½ hour, the cow has been locally anaesthetized and lightly sedated so she doesn’t feel a thing, and the first few days after, she receives painkillers. Ultimately, the cannula doesn’t seem to bother the cows and they’re able to run around like their non-cannulated sisters.
The cannula itself isn’t just there to optimize feed. I’m copying this from other sites, but here’s a bunch of the things we’ve gained from having cannulated cows:
“Reduced nitrogen emissions: Due largely to the fistula cows, a new system for protein evaluation for ruminants was introduced some years ago. This has led to significantly more environmentally friendly livestock farming through reducing nitrogen emissions.
Healthier milk fat: Based on research using fistula cows, researchers have arrived at a formula for cow feed that produces milk with healthier fat composition.
New knowledge on greenhouse gases: Through the agency of the fistula cows we are able to measure emissions of the greenhouse gas methane and thereby try to establish a feed that is as environmentally friendly as possible.”
“Being the quintessential symbiotic relationship — the cow supplies the bugs with nutrients and the bugs convert cellulose into usable energy for the cow — it also works the other way: when the cow gets sick, the bugs get sick, too. Then they die. And no gut bugs eventually means no cow.
Transfaunation — the act of taking microbes from one source and putting them in another — can be a literal lifesaver when it comes to a bovine bellyache. And how does one go about retrieving such a sample? By creating a one-stop shop for your sick cow’s gut flora needs. Designated donor cows with a surgically installed port allow access to the rumen from the outside.
Rumen flora from a fistulated cow helps not only sick cows, but also sheep and goats because they share similar digestive systems. “Our vet school always has a fistulated cow,” Aldridge says. “The bovine GI surgery patients routinely get a transfaunation because it’s been shown that the recovery rate and return to appetite and milk production is much greater if you reestablish the gut flora.”
Sick farm animals and surgical patients aside, fistulated cows are also a staple in bovine nutrition research, since having a fistula makes it easy to sample rumen contents in order to study how different nutrients affect a cow’s digestive system. The cost of surgically installing a rumen fistula is about $300 and doesn’t affect the longevity or health of the cow, says Dr. Susan Fubini, professor of large animal surgery at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “The plastic cannulas themselves last forever,” she says. As for the fistulated cows, “They are without a doubt the happiest animals in our hospital.””
On top of this, cannulas can be used to treat bloat, which is very painful and always fatal if left untreated.
How does one deem something which doesn’t cause an animal any pain or discomfort “wrong”? If they don’t care, neither should you.
Plus, I’d imagine looking at what happens to food as it’s digested is a very good way to figure out exactly what food is best for the animal in question.
And the hole isn’t left open. There’s a lid to cover it when it’s not in use. It’s not an open wound any more than a piercing is.
a merm design from over on patreon. This strikingly patterned lady belongs to a race of merms that function kind of like siphonophorae. Their bodies are actual communities of smaller creatures, each one with a function so specific that it would die on its own.
this is such a gorgeous concept and i’m in a writing mood, here’s some mini-fiction:
Laurie and I stared dumbstruck through the submersible’s bubble window. A translucent paw caressed the plastic dome with tender curiosity, her-their delicate face leaning close to watch us in return. Every deep sea horror story I’ve ever read or watched on a screen had told me that an experience like this would be one of mind-bending fear; it hadn’t prepared me for the possibility that I’d be taken with instantaneous love, the same awe-mixed adoration that had struck Saint Teresa in her cell.
I see you, we see you, said a voice that I did not hear, and beside me I felt Laurie tremble.
There was a question. You are each only one?
“Yes,” I said aloud, and I didn’t dare take my eyes away from her-their serene expression. The mermaid’s body billowed behind her-them in the soft current, brightly-colored organs wrapped in a transparent robe of flesh.
You must be lonely, said the voice in sweet intimacy with my thoughts, If only you were like me, like us. You would never be lonely again.
an excellent addition, thank you so much! i like the hyphenated pronouns and the slightly unsettling implications of the last sentence.
i wonder what she-they thinks the submersible is? a shell? this crew must seem like the most interesting giant mollusc in the world.
These are the fruiting bodies of a bird’s nest fungus. The little round bits are peridioles, which contain spores. When rainwater hits the fungus, the peridioles are tossed out, and they stick and release spores where they land. Totally harmless, the fungus feeds on decaying organic matter. It likes to grow in mulch and decaying wood.
If you are considering meeting up with someone online use this trick identify who really are who they claim to be:
1. Ask them to Skype 2. If they refuse or can’t for some reason ask for a current selfie 3. If they also refuse or can’t do not meet up with them 4. If they provide one ask them to send another with them holding 3 fingers up 5. If they refuse read step 3 6. If they provide a selfie where they show 3 fingers they are probably for real
(If you’re still unconvinced try again with them drawing something in their hand)
I SAY THIS FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY please spread this message as more and more young people are lured out into situations where they get kidnapped because they weren’t 100% sure the person they were talking to was real.
ALSO IF YOU ARE UNDER THE AGE OF 18 MAKE SURE YOU STATE THE FOLLOWING:
“My [fill in trusted adult here] wants to come too. [pronoun] said we can do our own thing and [pronoun] will just sort of grab [pronoun] own table, but I wanted to let you know. Hey, if you have an adult coming too they could sit together!”
If hearing this freaks the other person out and they decline, TERMINATE ALL CONTACT. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to block. I’m 26 years old and if you tell me you’re coming with a friend or parent for your own safety, I will automatically say “hey, cool. Y’know, if you’re nervous we can just do Starbucks or something, I’m okay meeting in a busy place. That way your [adult/friend] can hang out, too, and they don’t have to pay for [admission, a movie ticket, whatever].” Your safety and comfort is important to me, and is important to any good person you meet online who wants to meet up IRL. In the early 2000s when I first started seeing online safety PSAs, this was a widely-spread tip. Use it.
And for the record, you can use this over the age of 18, too. I still won’t meet people from online except in public places. You never know–that person holding up three fingers and drawing a Pokemon on their palm could be some pervert’s child, niece, nephew, family friend’s kid who was encouraged to take some silly pictures. Always voice-verify and always meet in public, with another person if possible.
Be smart and stay safe, kiddos. Nina loves you.
This is all so important for everyone and especially my younger followers.
Anyone who is being upfront with who they are and who you can trust will do whatever they need to do to make you and your parents/guardians comfortable. Hence why I am constantly requesting to too-busy-dancing13 to FaceTime her mom…
Please please please listen to this. Not everyone out there can be trusted.
And don’t just use three finger selfies that’s used a lot. Mix it up ask for the person holding a fork or a paper with a certain word written on it. Stay safe ppl
Another important one I feel the need to mention cause it wasn’t covered; If you’re under 18 as well and the person advises against you talking about them to their parents or guardians, get the fuck out of there. They’ll try and convince you otherwise, but trust me; anyone who is against you telling your parents about them is bad fucking news.
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