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> Note: Letters to the editor can be emailed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > From: > >http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/carroll/bal-ca.chickens15jul15.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Dcarroll > > Group seeks improvement of chicken-farm conditions > Carroll operation is used to illustrate birds' plight > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > By Childs Walker > Sun Staff > Originally published July 15, 2002 > > Stacked rows of metal cages, each crammed with eight hens, extend > longer than a football field in the chicken sheds at Westminster's > County Fair Farms. The birds peck at one another. They live suspended > above pits of their own waste, shut off from sunlight and fresh air. > > The conditions, which allow a half-million hens to produce millions > of eggs a year, meet all legal and industry standards, say those who > run the farm. But their henhouse recently was the site of a covert > operation in which a group of animal activists known as Compassion > Over Killing shot video and still pictures and abducted several birds > for delivery to a veterinarian. > > "It was a horrible place," said Paul Shapiro, the group's spokesman > and a proud vegan (a strict form of vegetarian diet) who believes > that if people knew the truth about most egg farms they'd never eat > an omelet. "And the worst thing is, it's typical." > > Compassion Over Killing is a small organization, with only two > full-time employees, and its cause might strike some as frivolous. > But the issue of chickens' rights has drawn attention from a growing > number of corporate giants -- including McDonald's, which has > required that the egg farms it buys from give hens more space. > > "Those are just the first steps, but certainly, it's a relief to see > companies taking notice," Shapiro said. > > The conditions on egg and poultry farms first drew the attention of > animal-rights activists in the late 1980s, as they shifted their > focus from endangered species to farm animals. Activists accused the > poultry industry of genetically engineering chickens raised for meat, > called broilers, to carry more flesh than their skeletons can > comfortably support. Then, national groups such as People for the > Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, began protesting the use of > battery cages, the term for the long rows of metal cages at most egg > farms. > > Responding to these protests, the European Union announced it will > require more spacious cages after 2012, and corporations such as > McDonald's have decreed that they won't buy eggs from companies that > induce greater production through starvation, a process called forced > molting. > > Compassion Over Killing, founded in 1995 and based in Takoma Park, > did not take up the chickens' cause until last year, when the group > sneaked into a farm in Cecil County and shot footage that was later > compiled for a video titled Hope for the Hopeless. > > Looking for another farm to infiltrate, Shapiro and his cohorts > picked County Fair based on an anonymous tip suggesting they might > find hens in poor condition. County Fair lies north of Westminster, > where the city gives way to farmland. > > Shapiro, 23, said the mission was not carefully planned. > > "We just showed up and walked in, basically," he said. > > The video shot during visits over several nights last spring shows > young adults wearing gray sweat shirts with "Compassion Over Killing" > printed across the chest in bold black letters. > > Hens in the videotape and pictures purportedly shot during the raid > appear gaunt and sluggish, their scant feathers are yellowish-brown > and their bodies covered with scars and infections. Live birds appear > to be caged with dead ones, and several birds appear to have died > after entangling themselves in cages. During their last incursion, > the activists seized 10 birds from their cages and took them to a > veterinarian for treatment. > > Farm supervisors at County Fair said the birds might not have a lot > of space (about 53 square inches per bird), and they said the hens > pluck one another's feathers. But, said Chris Pierce, a consultant > who works with the farm, the birds' diets are carefully managed, and > their cages are ventilated. He also said that workers regularly walk > the aisles to remove dying birds and untangle those who have become > stuck in cages. > > "When a bird is stressed, she doesn't perform as well, so we want > them to be as comfortable as possible," Pierce said. > > Shapiro says his attempts at lobbying Maryland legislators to expand > animal cruelty laws to livestock haven't succeeded. But he hopes that > by documenting conditions at egg farms he will inspire voters to > demand action from their elected officials. > > He said he's not interested in singling out Maryland -- which > produces about 845 million eggs a year, a figure dwarfed by industry > leaders such as Indiana, which produces about 6 billion eggs a year > -- and he's not trying to single out County Fair Farms. > > He said he wants people to know that such conditions are the rule at > egg farms in every state. The mortality rate at County Fair, which > loses about 500 birds in a bad week, might be in line with industry > standards, said Shapiro, but industry standards are inadequate. > > When allowed to forage and roam freely, the type of hens used at most > egg farms have fluffy white feathers and proud red combs and can live > as long as 10 years, Shapiro said. Farm hens rarely look so vibrant > and live about two years on average, animal rights activists say. > > "We're willing to sacrifice for these birds," Shapiro said. "What's > happening to them is just so obviously wrong." > > Shapiro's views are shared by other animal-rights supporters. > > Karen Davis of United Poultry Concerns said most Americans are so > removed from the world of modern farms that they have no idea what's > going on. > > "They don't know that poultry, like people, can experience terror and > pain, a really wide variety of suffering," Davis said. "It's > impossible to exaggerate how horrible these birds' lives are from > beginning to end." > > Pierce, the consultant for County Fair Farms, declined to comment on > the activists' clandestine tapings or their hen heist. However, he > said he expects that a new set of standards released by the Food > Marketing Institute, a group of retailers including the supermarket > chains Safeway and Kroger, will push farms such as County Fair closer > to practices favored by animal-rights activists. > > The standards, which hundreds of large egg buyers are expected to > follow, will require gradual increases in cage space with an eventual > goal of 67 square inches per bird in six years. The standards will > also demand that farms look for alternatives to forced molting. > > "People just need to understand that there are two sides to this > issue," Pierce said. "We're willing to work on the conditions, but we > also have people to feed." > > The interest of major customers such as the fast-food chains has > forced farmers to confront the animal-rights issues involved in egg > production, said Paul Zimmerman, poultry scientist at the University > of Maryland. He said that if enough people refuse to buy eggs of > chickens kept in battery cages, then battery cages will disappear. > > "The customers will determine the moral center on this issue," he > said. > > Copyright � 2002, The Baltimore Sun > _____________________________________________________________________ > UNITED POULTRY CONCERNS http://www.UPC-online.org > Promoting the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl > PO Box 150 Machipongo, VA 23405 * 757-678-7875 > The Moment You Turn Your Back You Are Involved > --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
