animal welfare chickens

Animal Welfare: Chickens

The treatment that food animals receive in the U.S. is horrendous, but

it is improving. Mostly due to consumer demands - especially those

efforts directed by groups like PETA (http://www.peta.org/) and The

Humane Society of the United States (http://www.hsus.org/). Also those

of many veterinarians across the U.S. I've had the good fortune to get

to know many vets through my grad work in the MPH program at the Univ.

of Minnesota and I can confidently tell you that most of these people

really care about animals and would prefer to see them all treated

humanely and allowed to live in a healthier, more natural environment.

Many of them find their ethics challenged by the demands of factory

farming -- and even avoid going into large animal practice because

they don't want to be faced with treating animals subjected to such

conditions everyday. Organic farming is creating the opportunity for

them to avoid that challenge and pursue care of farm animals. Yet

another positive for organic agriculture!

Wendy's has not followed the lead of several other fast food companies

(e.g., Burger King, Hardee's) and demanded that their poultry

suppliers improve the living conditions of their flocks to allow

greater freedom of movement (not much to ask). Here's a link to their

animal welfare info:

http://www.wendys.com/community/animal_welfare.jsp. As consumers we

can take actions to encourage better farm practices.

What you can do:

1. Let Wendy's know that you support humane treatment of animals and

would like for them to take such steps for their supply:

https://community.hsus.org/campaign/US_2007_wendys_eggs3/inge5i82z

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