Bred to Suffer
Chickens that are farmed for their flesh have been selectively bred over many years so that they are most profitable to farmers.
This means their bodies now grow extremely fast and get very obese in a very short time, so that farmers can kill them and sell their body parts as fast as possible. The chickens reach “slaughter weight” only five or six weeks after they are born. Their unnaturally fast growth and obesity leaves them in constant, inescapable pain. Most chickens cannot even support their own weight in order to stand up or walk.
This causes some chickens to be unable to reach food and water stations and so they slowly starve to death. It’s not uncommon for a large number of chickens not surviving long enough to be killed. Can you imagine being born into a body which is prone to health problems and constantly causes you immense suffering? We’ve made it so that the chickens’ own bodies are like painful prisons for them.
Life of a Chicken Raised for Meat
Chickens exploited for their flesh, called “broiler chickens”, are kept in massive, windowless sheds. As they grow the sheds quickly become densely overcrowded. On average each chicken has about the space of an A4 piece of paper. The sheds are not cleaned even once while the chickens live there, so faeces builds up rapidly and covers the floor. The chickens develop raw, painful burns on their chests and feet as a result of the ammonia from the faeces and urine. The ammonia also causes them respiratory diseases. It’s safe to say this really is hell on earth for these chickens. Many chickens die before they reach slaughter because the conditions are so awful.
A Short Life and a Cruel Death
After six excruciating months the chickens who have survived will be sent to the slaughterhouse. They are roughly grabbed by their legs and stuffed into crates, which are then packed onto transport trucks. Chickens suffer from injuries: broken wings, mangled legs, etc, because they are handled roughly with no concern for their wellbeing, as if they were mere commodities. The chickens travel long distances till they reach their final destination.
They are killed in the same ways as chickens used for eggs: hung up in shackles by their legs, then electrocuted using an electric water bath, then finally they are dragged through a bladed mechanism which cuts their throats. Since the process happens very quickly it is not always accurate and some chickens miss the water bath and end up having their throat cut while still fully conscious.
After dying this horrible death the chickens are not mourned, they are not buried, no one prays for them to rest in peace. The only thing which happens next is that their dead bodies are beheaded, defeathered, dismembered, disembowelled, chopped up into pieces and packaged up in neat plastic packaging which is then labelled with things like “free range”, “happy hens”, “high welfare” and “humane slaughter”, which can’t be farther from the truth.
We breed and and kill around 70 billion chickens every year globally, that’s almost ten times the human population. Each one is a living, feeling, unique individual. Chickens are beautiful, gentle beings with emotions and personalities, just like the dogs and cats we love. They do not deserve this. Don’t you agree? Stop eating their dead bodies – go vegan.
See for yourself the reality of the chicken meat industry (as well as other animal industries) in this shocking documentary. Using undercover footage, “Dominion” exposes the horrors you are really paying for when you buy animal products.
Want to go vegan but not sure how? Join the 22 Day Vegan Challenge and receive free support to help you make the switch to a plant based diet. Sign up now and stop being the reason animals suffer. What are you waiting for?
For Animals. 