As someone who spent quite a bit of time in cattle country in Canada, I can say that your intuition is right. People living by these animals do truly tend to care are about them. On the other hand, killing them is central to their entire way of life and the core of their economy. Without the animals, there would be no rural for much of Canada. Additionally, the difficulty of even modern rural life seems to create a certain hardness that is okay with animal death/suffering and that hardness exists alongside their love for their animals. 

I like this much more than the suggestion to have no parties. 

I'm not advocating for ragers, but parties (a fairly loosely defined term) are great for getting to know people in a personal and non-work related way. Plus, they’re fun.

I don’t think one should need to attend them to get an job. 

However, it’s hard to move away from the “it’s who you know” concept. Parties give you a chance to see who people are and if you would like to work with them as a person rather than who they are as a professional. I would much rather work with someone who knows their stuff AND is a joy to be around. 

The end result being that hiring practice should ensure that the same group of friends aren’t the only one’s being hired, but cancelling parties and the like isn’t the answer.

(I should note that official organizations probably shouldn’t be throwing crazy parties with tons of binge drinking (there is still individual responsibility here of course) for so many other reasons than who gets hired. More moderate events, such as having drinks at a EAG should be continued. And private individuals throwing parties that involve EA people are their own topic.)

Thanks Gideon!