The Truth About Chicken – Words From the Professor
ASPCA
Cockfighting in Bali
March 2011
Old habits die hard. The puritanical Dutch banned it. The new Balinese elite have banned it. But it’s still around. Cockfighting was and still is an essential part of Balinese culture––especially for the men. For Balinese men, “cock” (like in the English language) refers to the animal as well as to the male sex organ. Even though the fights are a more clandestine affair and take place at the fringe of rural settlements, the participants are as passionate about is as ever.
Patty Mark’s address for NZ Animal Rights Conference, July 2011
In her video address to the New Zealand AR conference held in July, Patty covers ALV’s beginnings, Openrescue and promoting
the compassionate, vegan lifestyle.
Animal Liberation Youth Australia
KFC abuses 850 million chickens world-wide every year – join the global boycott
KFC seem to have an acquired taste for bullying the underdog. Not only do they treat their workers badly, every year KFC globally tortures over 850 million chickens who are still babies.
These birds who are naturally yellow, chirpy and craving affection at 2 months old are in KFC’s eyes, nothing more than a chicken stick or a ‘zinger burger’ to be sold for profit. These birds are genetically selected, and transported to factory farms at no more than a week old, where they live out the next six to eight weeks of their lives in sheds that are filth-ridden and often lead to the death of many birds due to the lack of hygiene and sanitation. The worst part is that their miserable lives are sold for a measely 50c each (approx AU$).
On countless occasions the
ALV animal rescue team has investigated these factory farms
to find nothing less than
mass produced abuse
- birds who are crippled so badly that they were unable to walk or stand
- sick and dying birds who are unable to access food and water
- badly decomposing corpses that rot into the ground while other birds nest and feed around them
- sick and crippled birds with painful deformations who have clearly been abandoned and suffer painfully as they slowly wait to die.
Growth
The birds raised on KFC factory farms are still only chicks but have the bodies of an adult bird due to growth inducing antibiotics. At approximately three to four weeks old, this scenario is evident as the birds have yellow heads and rears, while the mass of their body is white (indicating adult growth). These birds grow so unnaturally quick that their organs are usually crushed by their bones. This can be likened to having concrete set inside your body, slowly crushing your bones and organs, leaving you frail and immobile. These birds suffer a range of musculoskeletal disorders, therefore many not being able to support their own body weight. It is believed to be the equivalent of placing an adult body on a baby. Clearly the bird has not physically developed enough to be able to support such strenuous weight.
The rescue team can barely stand
the stench and ammonia fumes
for just an hour and a half
Faecal and Ammonia Fumes
Not only do the birds suffer from growth deformations while being raised in the KFC sheds, but they also are exposed to the harsh ammonia and fecial fumes that are clearly a breach of the farm practices. These fumes are so harsh that birds often are blinded, and find it hard to even open their eyes to find food or water in these sheds. When ALV conducts rescues, the team members cannot stay in the sheds for any longer than 1.5 hours as the fumes are just too strong, which result in sweating and coughing if exposed for too long. The birds, however, are forced to spend their entire lives subjected to these conditions.
The birds are picked up in handfuls of four to five birds and thrown
into the crates to save time
Transportation
The older the birds are, the harder it is for them to move. When transportation date arrives, this leaves many birds prone to be manhandled in a process called ‘catching’ where the birds are loaded into crates to be transported to slaughter. The birds are picked up in handfuls of four to five birds and thrown into these crates to save time. After being stuffed into crates while already crippled, the birds face transportation times of several hours to the slaughterhouse, where they will receive their only salvation – death!
Some birds are not killed instantly and they’re scalded to death in the feather removal tanks
Slaughter
At the slaughterhouse, the abuse still continues. The birds are roughly unloaded from the trucks, have their legs snapped into shackles and they are sent down the processing line to an automated slicing machine which is set at one height and aims to slit their throats. Because they differ in size, not all birds are killed instantly and are left writhing in their own blood for up to four minutes, absolutely helpless until they end up being scalded alive in the feather removal tank. Their carcass is further processed and sold as ‘food.’
The RSPCA do less than nothing
to help factory farmed animals
and the abuse is simply
allowed to continue
Case Study
One particular ALV investigation found over 120 dead birds aged only a few days old. These birds were petite and yellow, and dying in mass numbers due to poor hygiene and sanitation, dehydration and starvation, neurological disfunction, and lack of appropriate care by farm attendants. Another 52 birds were deemed to be ill, crippled and/or frail who were unable to move properly and access appropriate food or water outlets. Due to the severity of the situation, the Werribee Police contacted the RSPCA to conduct an investigation. Unfortunately, the RSPCA do less than nothing to help most factory-farmed animals, and after one brief inspection by the RSPCA, the horrors were simply allowed to continue.
Take Action
Boycott eating at KFC
Inform everyone you know about what happens to 850 million KFC chickens every year before they end up in KFC buckets. And while you’re at it, stop eating animals altogether and Go Vegan.
Join our regular KFC demos
Participate in our KFC demonstrations to show KFC that we won’t give up on the animals. Contact us for more details.
Ask for our leaflets
Request a bunch of leaflets that you can distribute in your area to inform locals about the horrors of KFC.
Write to your local newspaper, student magazine or any other media
Tell them you’ve just been informed of the KFC Cruelty campaign, and that they should pick it up and support it because nobody likes animal abuse.
Write to the Australian KFC manager
Tell him how you feel about the way that KFC treats 850 million chickens every year. Tell him that you’ve joined the global KFC boycott, and no longer support any of the restaurants in the Yum! Restaurants International chain.
Roger Eaton, SVP, Yum! Restaurants International
20 Rodborough Rd.
Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086
OR
Call on: (02) 9930 3000
(02) 9930 3000(02) 9930 3000(02) 9930 3000(02) 9930 3000(02) 9930 3000(02) 9930 3000(02) 9930 3000(02) 9930 3000(02) 9930 3000(02) 9930 3000(02) 9930 3000(02) 9930 3000(02) 9930 3000(02) 9930 3000(02) 9930 3000
Fax: (02) 9930 3001
Photos Courtesy of http://www.public-domain-image.com
Wonderful World of Non Human Animals 