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Chickens Lack the Most Basic Legal Protection: The Right to Humane Slaughter

From Vicky Bond, Earth / Food / Life: A project of Independent Media Institute
September 2024

Despite their ability to think and feel, billions of chickens are raised and killed for food each year and subjected to some of the worst living and slaughter conditions imaginable to meet the increasing demand for meat worldwide.

Rooster

Chickens are the most populous bird on Earth and are widely considered among the most abused animals on the planet. Despite their ability to think and feel, billions of chickens are raised and killed for food each year and subjected to some of the worst living and slaughter conditions imaginable to meet the increasing demand for meat worldwide.

Chickens are complex social and emotional beings. Research indicates that chickens are not simple-minded creatures, which is an assumption many make.

“[S]cientists have learned that this bird can be deceptive and cunning, that… [they possess] communication skills on par with those of some primates and that… [they use] sophisticated signals to convey… [their] intentions,” according to the Scientific American. “When making decisions, the chicken takes into account… [their] own prior experience and knowledge surrounding the situation. … [Chickens] can solve complex problems and [empathize] with individuals… [who] are in danger.”

Miserable Lives Trapped in Factory Farms

A 2019 analysis by Sentience Institute estimated that 99 percent of all birds raised for food spend their lives trapped in factory farms. Broiler chickens—the industry term for birds raised for meat—suffer through harrowing living conditions every day of their short lives.

Most of these chickens are born in industrial hatcheries, surrounded by bright lights and machines. The baby birds never meet their mothers—the industry separates unhatched chicks from mother hens as soon as the eggs are laid. Soon after hatching, these birds are packed into cramped crates and shipped to factory farms.

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Please read the ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE, including:

  • Miserable Lives Trapped in Factory Farms
  • Chickens Are Killed Inhumanely
  • The Profit Motive: Choosing Cruelty Over Care
  • Egg-Laying Hens Are Cruelly Killed, Too
  • Consumer Awareness and Pressure Helps Reduce Animal Cruelty
  • Ensuring Humane Treatment of Chickens
Posted on All-Creatures.org: September 23, 2024
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