Its hard for me to seriously consider changing my opinion from an article that shows its biases so clearly. You show me the worst case scenario, but what is the average case? Also, what are the alternatives to these techniques? If you don't like cattle prodding, what do you suggest instead? Not eating meat or drinking milk is not going to be an acceptable answer.
Edit: Not going to be acceptable as an alternative to animal cruelty to the American public. I think that is pretty objective in terms of what is actually feasible through legislation/cultural change.
Edit: Not going to be acceptable as an alternative to animal cruelty to the American public. I think that is pretty objective in terms of what is actually feasible through legislation/cultural change.