One of the most inspiring vegan activists I know is Karen Davis PhD, of United Poultry Concerns.
As she wrote in ‘VEGAN VOICES’ – Essays by Inspiring Changemakers”:-
“Something I learned about chickens … is how vocally charged they are from morning to night. All-day long, I hear their voices outside, ringing and singing…
“By contrast, if you open the door of a Tyson or Perdue chicken house after the newborns have been there for a week or so, you will not hear a peep or a rustle. If you enter a facility where hens have been caged for eggs for a few months, the sound of silence will strike you more forcibly than commotion. Of all the indicators of their suffering, the sound of thousands of chickens together, mute and unmoving, is the eeriest, most audible signal that something is wrong.”
Reading this just now was painful for me. Two days ago I and my friend Deno visited a poultry farm, and I held a ‘brown shaver’ in my arms. This girl and other hens were being shifted from their tiny battery cages in one shed, to other tiny battery cages next door. She and her sisters live their lives cramped in an A4-size space, in a dark, smelly hovel, unable to spread their wings or take two steps forward or back.
This poor girl sunk immediately into my arms, and not a peep came from her. There were no obvious signs of illness, but make no mistake, her heart and mind were sick. Her silence and resignation told me all I needed to know about her immense sufferings.
Please don’t accuse me of being overly emotional.
My understanding comes from my evolutionary continuity with other creatures. I know them because of this.
You do too.
Please #goveganfortheanimals.
