Marin factions on animal-slaughter ban battle to sway commission

An army of people opposed to allowing the slaughter of agricultural animals in Marin implored the Marin County Planning Commission on Monday not to lift a ban on the practice, in effect since 2003. A change in the rules governing animal slaughter is one of a number of possible amendments to the county’s development code that the commission is considering. Monday’s hearing was the second of three scheduled workshops to discuss the possible amendments. The commission listened to three hours of public comment on the animal slaughter issue. A majority of the speakers voiced their opposition not only to permitting animal slaughter in Marin but also the human consumption of meat. A smaller group of people who spoke in favor of lifting the ban said it would allow embattled Marin farmers and ranchers an opportunity to further diversify their operations. Scenarios under consideration include allowing small-scale, on-farm slaughter of poultry and rabbits; the use of mobile slaughter units for larger animals; and permanently-sited slaughterhouses. “We are dealing not with something to be processed and harvested but with someone,” said Marcy Berman, founder and executive director of the Mill Valley nonprofit, SaveABunny. As she spoke, Berman cradled a large white rabbit that her organization had rescued. “This is who we are talking about being slaughtered in the back yard,” Berman said. “This is a loving, compassionate, intelligent animal that deserves a whole lot better than this. Please think if this was your dog.” Lisa Zorn, a board member of SaveABunny, said, “When I met a couple of rabbits and adopted them as my family 14 years ago, I never thought about slaughter. My animals opened my eyes and my heart.” Patti Breitman, director of the Marin Vegetarian Education Group and a co-founder of Dharma Voices for Animals, encouraged the commission “to look at the bigger picture.” “A hundred years ago it was normal, natural and deemed necessary that women stay at home, not work, not vote, wear dresses and submit to their husbands. Things do change,” Breitman said. “We have to look at animal agriculture itself including slaughter as something whose time is over,” she said. “A hundred years from now what will it look like that we spent our time arguing over the details of how to kill a sentient being.” Cindy Shelton, who said she was speaking on behalf of the Marin Association of Realtors, said allowing animal slaughter in Marin agricultural and industrial zones “would be a real estate nightmare, as far as disclosures go.” Shelton said it could make homes in Nicasio Valley “extremely difficult to sell.”...more 

How would you refute/respond to the veterinarian, realtors and cute little bunnies?
A sad commentary on property rights today.