According to The Local, a swedish news publication, a neighborhood farmer is concerned for his livestock after the introduction of a new high-speed commuter train in his area. The result is a shocking amount of injuries and deaths on his reindeer farm. He has been forced to consider different areas for his herds to graze.
Mikael Jonsson comments on the toll to his reindeer:
“It’s been the worst winter I’ve experienced in the whole of my life when it comes to reindeer getting hit by trains,”
“This year, they’ve provided a shuttle service from Lycksele and increased the speed of the train so it’s like having a meat grinder that goes past,”
“For my family, this is about a couple hundred thousand kronor that we must go without. We can’t afford to keep sacrificing the herd to the train traffic,”
No doubt this is gonna piss-off Santa. These poor creatures are paying the price for our convenience, that’s for sure. This is a common occurance with many farmers when train tracks run through their pastures. I wonder how the rail operators would feel about compensating him for a certain percentage of his losses? It is unfair that he should have to foot the bill on his own.
Take a look at what Twitter had to say:
RT Calling Obama: High-Speed Train kills reindeer ‘like meat grinder’: farmer – Where’s the HSUS and PETA?!? http://… http://t.co/oHor8y5U
Bad news for Santa’s replacement crew: High-speed train kills reindeer ‘like meat grinder’ http://t.co/Q4R22RpD
Dashing through the snow- SPLAT! Train kills reindeer ‘like meat grinder’: farmer – The Local http://t.co/YwUxsZg2 via @TheLocalSweden
More leftist green unintended animal death, like the 1000’s of birds -Train kills reindeer ‘like meat grinder’: farmer http://t.co/42dBgQ4k
Outrage!! Hunter kills over 200 reindeer in just 3 months without a permit. And by hunter I mean high speed train: http://t.co/WXvFJEDm
Train hugging liberals hate reindeer. RT @GaryBastin Train kills reindeer ‘like meat grinder’: farmer http://t.co/uQdyClIl
It’s an easy situation to make light of, but this is a legitimate case where new technology is harming a business owner’s ability to turn a profit. Whether you’re on the side of animal rights or advancing technology, this issue must be addressed. We can’t let big business trample over small businesses just because we feel like ignoring the problem. I would be outraged if I was the farmer too. I know a mutually beneficial solution can be reached.