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发帖数: 20343 | 14 Poultry and Eggs: Industries That Abuse Chickens
Chickens Raised for Meat
More than 8 billion chickens are raised and killed for meat each year in the
U.S.2 The industry refers to these chickens as “broilers” and raises them
in huge, ammonia-filled, windowless sheds where artificial lighting is
manipulated to make birds eat as often as possible.3
To keep up with demand and reduce production costs, genetic selection and a
steady dose of growth-promoting drugs are used to ensure large, fast-growing
birds. Today, most chicks take only six to seven weeks to reach “
processing” weight, and chickens raised for meat weigh an average of one-
fifth more than those raised in the 1950s.4 The shift in consumer habits—
from eating whole chickens to chicken parts—has encouraged the industry to
raise birds with “thicker breast[s], fatter wings and chubbier drumsticks,
” according to the Associated Press.5 Skeletal problems, especially in the
legs, are common among these birds, and many die from ascites, a disease
thought to be caused by the inability of birds’ hearts and lungs to keep up
with their rapid skeletal growth. According to one study, “[T]he bird’s
demand for oxygen exceeds its cardiopulmonary capacity.”6,7
Chickens Raised for Their Eggs
About 360 million hens are raised for eggs in the U.S., and most spend their
lives in battery cages, stacked tier upon tier in huge warehouses.8,9
Millions of day-old male chicks are killed (usually in a high-speed grinder
called a “macerator”) every year because they are worthless to the egg
industry.10 The wire mesh of the cages rubs off their feathers, chafes
their skin, and causes their feet to become crippled.
Broken bones are also common among these birds, who “suffer significant
osteoporosis,” according to the International Veterinary Information
Service.11 A study published in Poultry Science explained that “high
production hens’ structural bone is mobilized throughout the laying period
in order to contribute to the formation of eggshell.”12
Although chickens can live for more than a decade, hens raised for their
eggs are exhausted, and their egg production begins to wane when they are
about 2 years old.13,14 When this happens, they are slaughtered. More than
100 million “spent” hens are killed in slaughterhouses every year.15
http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/animals-used-food-factsheets/poultry-eggs-industries-abuse-chickens/ |
