Videos (Poultry)
FROM SHELL TO HELL
Due to the focus on maximising egg production, many intensive farming methods appear to disregard the fact that chickens are sentient beings with the capacity to suffer. However, there is ample research to demonstrate that chickens, like humans, experience physical sensations such as pain, and emotional responses such as fear, anxiety, pleasure and enjoyment. Studies have shown that chickens are highly social animals with complex cognitive abilities. Hens in battery cages spend their lives in artificially lit surroundings designed to maximize laying activity. They are allocated space equivalent to little more than an A4 sized piece of paper, which is insufficient room to exercise most natural behaviours. As hens raised in battery cages spend their time continually standing on sloping wire floors designed to facilitate egg collection, many experience chronic pain from the development of lesions and other foot problems. Due to the suppression of many of their natural instincts and social interactions, chickens raised in battery cages often become frustrated. |
This may trigger stereotypical behaviors like pecking, bullying and cannibalism. Producers consider these to be behavioural 'vices' because they can cause hens to injure themselves or other birds. Consequently, chicks are routinely beak-trimmed or 'de-beaked', which involves the practical removal or burning off of the upper and lower beak through the application of an electrically heated blade.
Despite the fact that de-beaking is known to cause acute and chronic pain (particularly in older birds) due to tissue damage and nerve injury, no law requires pain relief to be used in conjunction with the procedure. There is also no legal requirement for the procedure to be carried out by a veterinarian or even a stockperson with specialised training. In addition to the above, many people do not realise that each year up to 12 million male chickens are designated an industry waste product because they cannot lay eggs. They are killed soon after hatching, generally by gassing or maceration (disposal in a high-speed grinder). |
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