Archives

Following numerous undercover investigations revealing shocking cruelty in slaughterhouses, U.S. meat and egg companies are slowly shifting towards a method of killing regarded by many as being less inhumane: gas chambers.

Euphemistically referred to as Controlled Atmosphere Killing (CAK), gas chambers are widely used in Australia and some European Union countries to slaughter pigs, chickens and other animals.

In several countries, pigs and chickens are commonly killed using gas chambers.

PIGS

In order to gas pigs, slaughterhouse workers use electric prods to force them into small steel cages which are lowered into carbon dioxide filled chambers. Undercover footage shows pigs screaming, thrashing and gasping for air in their final moments. An Australian activist conducting an undercover investigation described what he saw: “In their last minutes, these pigs are burning from the inside out.”

Pigs being suffocated in gas chambers.

BROILER CHICKENS

The travelling crates that contain chickens are typically unloaded from a truck onto a conveyor belt which carries them into a gas chamber. According to an eyewitness from Canadians for the Ethical Treatment of Food Animals, “Aversive behavior in the form of gasping, shaking of heads and stretching of necks to breathe could be seen beginning in window two [of the gas chamber] and, by window three, all were exhibiting strong convulsions. The birds’ movements eventually became still and by the time they emerged from the CO2 chambers they were completely lifeless…”

Gas chambers are used to render broiler chickens unconscious before they are bled to death.

EGG-LAYING HENS

Workers aggressively grab spent layer hens birds out of their cages and toss them into mobile metal gas chambers.  On some factory farms, the hens are simply stuffed into trash cans where they are gassed. According to a former worker at a supplier to Eggland’s Best: “It’s absolutely chilling to hear these birds scrambling and fighting for air in these gas chambers.”

At worst spent hens are killed by being thrown into trash cans which are than filled with gas.

Several animal advocacy groups are pressuring companies to transition to using CAK as their primary method of slaughter because it has been shown to be, in many ways, less painful and stressful than conventional methods.

To learn more about the use of gas chambers to kill pigs, please visit aussieabattoirs.com

To watch the investigation that revealed the use of gas chambers to kill spent hens, please visit Mercy For Animals

To learn more about animal cruelty in the food industry, please watch Farm to Fridge and Earthlings

To order a free vegan starter kit, please visit PETA

The German parliament recently voted against a Green Party bill that would have banned the practice of killing newborn male chicks in the egg industry. According to a spokesman from the ruling Christian Democratic Union Party, the decision was made out of fear that “…animal production will move to another country.” A high court affirmed this decision, arguing that German law allows the killing of animals if it can be justified economically and that chick shredding is “…part of the process for providing the population with eggs and meat.” An agricultural minister from Northern Germany disagreed with the decision, stating “We must finally stop treating animals like garbage.”

https://youtu.be/u8-fiHHbdRs

Since male chicks cannot lay eggs or be profitably raised for meat, they are usually killed within hours of hatching. The most common methods are grinding them up alive (maceration), gassing, electrocution or suffocation by stuffing them into garbage bags. In Germany, approximately 40 million newborn male chicks are killed every year. Worldwide, the number is estimated to be 2.5 billion.

Two widely used methods of male chick culling are maceration and suffocation.

“If killing millions of newborns doesn’t violate the animal protection laws of a country widely perceived as being on the forefront of animal welfare reform, then one can only imagine what farm animal practices are legal in countries like the U.S.,” said Karen Davis, President of United Poultry Concerns, a national advocacy group that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl. “It is thus interesting that the U.S. egg industry trade group, United Egg Producers (UEP), has just announced it will, by 2020, replace the killing of newborn male chicks with ‘in-ovo egg sexing,’ a process in which the sex of chicks is identified before they develop inside of their eggs.”

UEP’s announcement was made in response to a campaign by The Humane League, a national animal advocacy organization that works to protect animals through public education, campaigns and rescue.

In response to the news, Davis said, “While in-ovo chick sexing must surely be less inhumane than the mass-extermination of fully developed chicks, it does not eliminate the inherent cruelty of commercial egg production.”

Israeli animal rights activists occupy a chick hatchery and shuts down a macerator in the process of grinding newborn male chicks.

The practice of chick shredding has generated tremendous controversy worldwide in recent years. In June, 2015, Israeli animal rights activists occupied a hatchery and shut off a macerator that was grinding newborn chicks. When police arrived at the scene,  activist Tal Gilboa challenged an officer, saying “I want to see you, as a human being regardless of your uniform, cop or no cop, turn on the power supply.” The video of this act of civil disobedience was viewed over two million times on Facebook.

To learn more about The Humane League’s successful campaign to end the mass killing of male chicks in the egg industry, please visit the organization’s blog post about its victory.

To learn more about the plight of chickens in the egg industry, please visit United Poultry Concerns.

In March, several hundred people came together in Berkeley, California, for the annual Conscious Eating Conference. Throughout the day, advocates, authors and philosophers from around the country made presentations about the ethics of eating and how food choices impact animals, human health and the planet. To view and share the full presentations, please visit  United Poultry Concerns.

The David Brower Center in Berkeley was filled to capacity with several hundred attendees.

Hope Bohanec of United Poultry Concerns

During the breaks, attendees visited the booths of animal advocacy groups, animal sanctuaries, authors  and vegan companies.

The 2016 Conscious Eating Conference featured exhibitors from around the country

United Poultry Concerns is a national advocacy group that “promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl.” To learn more about UPC and to support their work, please visit their website.

Move over, Esther the Wonder Pig! For a moment, the spotlight is shining on a chicken who is changing hearts and minds around the world. Her name is Penelope, and, against all odds, she survived a massacre.

Penelope, who almost died from Marek’s disease, is thriving today thanks to her rescuers

In the animal agriculture industry, chickens are typically stuffed into crates on the “farms” where they are fattened and shipped directly to slaughterhouses, where their short and painful lives come to a screeching halt. Not Penelope. She had the added misfortune of being sent on a treacherous detour – a detour that turned out to save her life.

Tens of thousands of chickens are held captive in crates with no food or water before being swung and slaughtered in a sacrificial religious ritual

Penelope, along with tens of thousands of other “broiler” chickens, was sold to ultra-Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, New York, to be sacrificed in an annual religious ritual called Kaporos. During the ritual, participants grab the chickens by their fragile wings and swing them around their heads three times while saying a prayer to transfer their sins to the animal. After the ritual, a butcher in the street slaughters the chickens and dumps their dead – or still living – bodies into garbage bags.

Penelope’s rescuer wore a disguise to infiltrate the community where she would have sacrificed in a religious ritual

In his documentary short, filmmaker Duncan Skiles tells the magical story of how a brave woman, who stumbled upon the massacre, rescued a dying chicken, and, with the help of her compassionate husband, gave her a second chance.

Today, Penelope lives with her human flock in Brooklyn, just steps away from where she was saved. Like so many other rescued farm animals, Penelope has become an ambassador for all farm animals by showing people in the community that she is a unique and vibrant individual who wants to live.

After a short lifetime of deprivation and abuse, Penelope has learned how to trust humans

Follow Penelope’s journey at Penelope the Chicken on Facebook.

Please join the Facebook page The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos to lend your voice and support to the tens of thousands of chickens who are stuffed into crates, swung and slaughtered each year in the name of God.

After a lifetime of abuse, neglect and deprivation, Penelope receives TLC from a (human) member of her flock

In one of the most highly anticipated animal events of 2015, thousands of people traveled to High Falls, New York on September 5th to celebrate the grand re-opening of the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary in its new location. Situated on 150 lush green acres, the new sanctuary will serve not only as a refuge for rescued farm animals but also as a living classroom for visitors and a venue for cruelty-free events, such as summer camps and celebrations.

Jenny Brown and Doug Abel, the founders of Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, opened the original location in upstate New York on 26 acres, but they – and the animals they rescue who serve as ambassadors to all victims of animal agriculture – have outgrown the space. The new sanctuary is six times the size and far more expensive to own and operate. Please support Woodstock Farm Sanctuary by making a contribution or becoming a member.

Woodstock Farm Sanctuary Grand Re-Opening