Chicken Cruelty

Abuse of animals is never tolerable, but it seems that anti-abuse groups tend to focus on those animals that are “cute and cuddly”. Most don’t see chickens as cute, or cuddly. Nonetheless, they are animals, and they deserve proper treatment. Chickens deemed for slaughter are sometimes abused during shipping, killed while they are conscious, and even boiled alive. Baby chicks are not ignored either: they are abused during the packing process, killed if they aren’t female, and sometimes suffer, as they are not properly killed. Over 95% of all chickens in the United States live in cages. Caged chickens tend to suffer leg problems, abnormal weight gain, and defensiveness.

When chickens are forced to stand on wire cages, they often develop leg deformities. Sometimes, chickens cannot walk, or they develop infections in their legs leading to immobility. Chickens have also been bred throughout the years to be greedy, defensive, and very hungry. Because of this, chickens are abnormally hungry, tending to be very plump. Chickens are supposed to be lean creatures, so the extra weight adds more stress to their already tender legs and feet. Chickens are also very greedy, and defensive. Since chickens are usually crammed into a small cage with other chickens, they often get into fights. To prevent fights, which could lead to injury, or death, farmers often debeak their chickens, cutting about half of the top half of the beak, which sometimes leads to the chicken losing part of it’s tongue. Researcher’s have found that debeaking can lead to infection, pain, and decreased feeding. In other words, debeaking can cause the bird to suffer; which could be prevented by raising free-range chickens, or allowing birds more room per cage.

When chicks are hatched, they are dumped onto conveyor belts, and fall through slats onto a separate belt. Eventually, when the chicks are sexed, workers pick them up by the wing, and based on the length of the chicks feathers, they are deemed either male, or female. Once the chicks are sexed, the chicks are then tossed down a chute, similar to a small-scale laundry chute. Male chicks are not generally as useful as female chicks; male chickens tend to have stringy meat, which is undesirable for consumers. The males that are kept are used for breeding purposes only. Many farms dispose of their male chickens by killing them. Millions of male chicks die every year, simply because they are not good for sales. The chicks that are selected for killing, namely males, are not always killed humanely. Pictures taken by P.E.T.A. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have shown many chicks merely tossed into garbage cans. Some chicks are not dead, and suffer greatly as more dead chicks are piled onto them, causing them to finally suffocate.

Once chickens have reached the prime age for killing, around a few months old, slaughter commences. Workers have been photographed and filmed mistreating chickens. A particular incident at a Tyson chicken farm in West Virginia depicted workers spray painting chicken’s faces, spitting tobacco juice in their eyes, and on their backs, and also deliberately dropping cages containing chickens. A supervisor was even recorded telling workers that the chickens that were being killed by a machine due to worker malpractice weren’t important, and that the machine was to blame, so nothing should be done. Chickens are also suseptible to eye and sinis infections, as well as other occurances such as becoming stuck in piles of feces, and sometimes being thrown into garbage alive with other dead chickens.

Groups like the U.E.P. (United Egg Producers) require chickens, including those that are sickly, to be killed in a humane manner. Some farms, however, have treated their chickens with disrespect, by killing chickens in a manner that causes suffering. Generally chickens are killed, by having their throats slit, after they have been made unconscious by using CO2, or another gas or method. Some farms fail to properly check chickens before they are hung upside down by their legs to be killed. Studies have shown that some chickens are indeed alive when they go through the killing process. Farmers depend on technology to do the jobs that were once completed by humans. While technology can help farmers make more money, and increase productivity, technology can also allow errors to occur. Chicken feathers are loosened by dunking the chicken in boiling water, a tedious process that has been eliminated by using machines that both dunk, and pluck the chickens. Some people have claimed that chickens may still be conscious when they are dunked into boiling water. This causes much concern because, if the chickens were alive, being submerged into boiling water would definitely cause suffering.

It is apparent that although not all chickens are abused, it is a concern for our nations. American’s eat over 80 lbs of chicken every year, and consume many products that contain egg and chicken products, such as mayonnaise. No animal should be forced into a small cage, killed only because of its gender, or killed while it is still conscious. Chickens are animals. Granted, they may not seem the same as dogs or cats, but they are extremely intelligent. Birds have more than 20 calls, recognize faces, teach calls to their young, and realize cause and effect.

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