Contrary to what you wrote in your Nov. 10 editorial “Doomed oxen: A lesson in sustainability,” I don’t believe that the “simple fact” that “squealing pigs, clucking chickens, and bleating sheep are not pets” has eluded any students at Green Mountain College. They apparently have been raising these animals for food for years.

However, their oxen Bill and Lou were raised as working animals. They were socialized and trained from a young age to till the fields and pull heavy loads, and to learn from and respond to the directions of the students. They were given names, as are other working animals, such as a horse or hunting dog.