Beyond
Chicken

Animal Factories

Chickens raised for their meat are not kept in batteries of cages like hens raised for eggs, but are raised in huge sheds which get more and more crowded as the birds grow. Their droppings accumulate and are only removed when the chickens are removed for slaughter at 6 weeks of age. So by the last weeks they are sitting and walking on piles of their own manure, which gives off dust and ammonia. Many become crippled because of their unnaturally fast growth rate.

Professor John Webster, Emeritus Professor of Animal Husbandry, Bristol University sums it up: "Broilers are the only livestock that are in chronic pain for the last 20% of their lives. They don't move around, not because they are overstocked, but because it hurts their joints so much."

Over 18 million chickens a year (4%) die before they even reach 6 weeks. They suffer from heart attacks, congested lungs and crippled legs. Some are cannibalised by their mates. The survivors are caught and shoved into crates. Hundreds of thousands of chickens a year die during transport to slaughter. In addition, many millions of birds (3-4%) suffer the pain of broken bones and dislocated hips due to rough handling before death. A 2008 study examined the walking ability of 51,000 chickens and found only 3% could walk normally by the end of the growing period.