Standard Practice

In the slaughterhouse, she dangles by her feet
Roped tight. With a metal pipe, he sweats and
Beats her tender sides for meat. The body fraught,
A family pet is tortured out of mind,
But still she is alive.
 
To maximize adrenaline and tenderize the flesh,
In dog-meat processing, this is standard practice.
 
With pole and loop tight round the neck,
He drags the screaming dog and throws him in a boiling pot
Bearing all his weight down on the lid.
The boy tries to escape.
 
To maximize adrenaline and tenderize the flesh,
In dog-meat processing, this is standard practice.
 
Sometimes it’s even worse than this. Live stabbing follows beating.
Paw-chopping makes slow bleeding. Imagine disemboweling
While awake, an affectionate being?
The eyes blink and there’s breathing.
 
To maximize adrenaline and tenderize the flesh,
In dog-meat processing, this is standard practice.
 
Eventually, time grants the grace, and after
Layered torture sessions, sleep gives life’s last kiss.
Death pulls up the sheet.
 
All this standard practice, just for your dog meat.

-- jenny wilkins, illustration by nicola harrison