I had a friend of mine post a Pita …oh, sorry, PETA story on Facebook about roosters being killed for their feathers…Apparently the idea that killing chickens for hair decoration is offensive to some…
Let’s put it in perspective. . .these chickens live comparatively long compared to your garden variety Chicken McNugget. Only a fully mature, prime male is going to produce the kind of plumage needed for these adornments..
Not only that, but these chicken living arrangements are freakin’ posh compared to the boxes their KFC cousins are born, raised and served in…Long, elegant feathers don’t do well in cramped quarters, surrounded by a hostile, all male flock and the resulting feces.
Oh, and the market for these feathers? It is hardly fly by night! it goes back hundreds and hundreds of years! Seriously, these are the birds that that are selectively bred and prized by the fly fishing enthusiasts for their feathered contribution to fly tying.
How the heck did we become so confused in our animal husbandry and animal rights ethics?
The reality is, we use animals..as labour, food, clothing, fuel, shelter, protection, companionship etc..Our moral obligation is to make sure that this use is humane…that the labourer has respite, food and water, the sick are tended to, that any death is quick (no, I am not saying painless. That is another story) and we don’t kill or breed in a way that is unsustainable.
PETA is certainly allowed to suggest that killing chickens for feathers is wrong….But I can’t say that I agree or even think their position has any basis in reality. Unless we are willing to give up the use of animals entirely, I think we have to accept that the use of animals be ethically bound, but leave the reason for use to the user..