Sky is sadly quite right in a lot of things, one only has to look at the Bernard Matthews Turkey Baseball incident not so long ago to know that there is a lot of cruelty in the meat trade, often long before they get to the slaughterhouse. Psychological trauma too, really if one had to compare, it would be to that of a concentration camp, the creatures as they go into the house know that death is coming, they can smell the fear and the blood and if the end is quick then they are lucky.
Back during the foot and mouth crisis and subsequent disease outbreaks in livestock over the last decade or two, there were plenty of stories of cows being burnt alive because the herds were so large that the bolt gunner missed a couple. You do get desensitised I should imagine, if you are carrying out dozens of shootings a day, it's either that or you quit your job or go mad.
The only thing we can do is do what we can with what we have, if you see a cat limping at the side of the road, don't drive on by, stop and see if you can catch it and take it to the vets, likewise with any animal. You might not be able to save it, most wild animals will die of shock after being rescued so sometimes it's hard to know what to do, but domesticated animals are a bit more resistant to human contact (though no less vicious when in pain). If you ever have a chance to work in animal care and you care for animals, then do so, although it's a world of heartbreak as much as it is a world of satisfaction and love.
I'm a meat-eater, I could never be a vegetarian, even though I know how my meat gets to me and chances are the stuff that is in it (particularly the mass manufactured stuff that you buy in cheap in most supermarkets) is probably not that healthy for me. I cannot change this, but I can care for the animals I have and the animals I find.
It's a bloody sick world in places, and yet, in other places it's a very kind and caring one. Ying and yang.
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