Madam, - There have been predictable reactions to the screening of the program My Foetus on Channel 4 last week. Breda O'Brien was rendered speechless (Opinion, April 24th) while others opined that those who supported abortion ought not be afraid to witness its reality.
Does this mean that those who supported the screening of an abortion will also support the breaching of other taboos? I think it is time that all who happily sit down to eat the young of other species might now be prepared to watch how they actually get from the field to the plate.
Is it not time we saw the calves and lambs separated from their mothers, their transportation to the slaughterhouse and their terror as they wait their turn to be killed? Let us not be spared the sight of the stun gun to the head, the bolt through the skull and the bad luck of some for whom the gun malfunctions or is incorrectly applied. In such cases let us see the live, conscious animal hoisted by its leg onto an assembly line where its throat is cut and it bleeds to death, struggling for its life.
These creatures are conscious, sentient beings who are aware of themselves and have a desire for life and a fear of death. But they are not part of the human species and we enjoy eating them, so the reality of their suffering is hidden away. It is a social taboo to even mention it. Will media pundits now support lifting the veil on this particular taboo? - Yours, etc.,
DEIRDRE WICKS,
Canrawer,
Oughterard,
Co Galway.