Written by PETA
Thousands of "laying" hens died an almost unimaginably horrific death when the barn that they were trapped in burned two days before Halloween. It was the first of three fires involving farmed animals in Ontario in just over a week. Three days later, 10 calves perished in a fire at a dairy farm near London, Ontario. Then, 70 cows and calves died when a fire swept through a barn at a dairy farm near Ottawa on Friday. That's not even counting the suspicious fire at a hog farm in Manitoba that we told you about last week.
A concerned citizen visited the chicken farm and captured this footage of the hens, dead in their cages:
The farmer's reaction to the carnage? He noted that neither the chickens nor the barn had any particular sentimental value and stated, rather unnecessarily, that "there won't be any income from the hens, that's for sure." Perhaps these hens' deaths won't have been entirely in vain if this tragic story convinces even one person with a heart slightly larger than a chicken farmer's to swear off eggs.
Written by Alisa Mullins
c, what are you, 12 years old?
Jane, thanks for leaving comments on that site - some pretty unreal people commenting there, eh?
I totally agree with becky :) and "c" keep it shut, if your opinion is any diferent then you clearly have problems. and we can do alot by going vegan. THANKS ha!
alright becky not everybodies opinions are the same as yours. some care about animals others dont. yes it would suck but what are you gonna do about it?
Have left a comment on the ottawasun site. Read a few of the comments there - someone had written that 'animals are not self aware, they cannot have conversations with one another or plan what they're going to do for the afternoon'. This was someone who actually farms chickens I believe - obviously hadn't taken a blind bit of notice of them, or any other animal for that matter. Shocking.
Re: okthen. Really? Because chickens are not any different from a dog or a person in that they feel pain, fear and have emotions. I cannot even imagine how horrible it would be killed like that. If you were suffocated by smoke, you're lucky. Some hens were probably burned alive and of course they're trapped in cages so they have nowhere to run away from the fire. Remember people, these are lives not egg-producing machines.
Re: Laurie Knetchel. Swearing off eggs may not stop factory farming immediately, but declining sales certainly informs the industry--both industrial and "free-range"--that we do not approve of their production methods. Unfortunately, "free-range" hens do not always have the freedom to escape danger. Their access to the outdoors can be cut off at any time for "health" or "safety" reasons. To learn more about the truth behind the "Free-Range" myth, visit: www.peta.org/.../organic-free-range-meat.aspx - PETA
"Free-range" is usually a lie.
Swearing off eggs will not stop factory farming. Your argument is a bit puzzling. If those chickens had been free-range, instead of being trapped in cages, they would not have perished in the fire. Period.
The fire was an accident! Yes, the farmer was upset. But they are chickens!
Check out some of the not-so-pleasant media coverage in Ottawa: www.ottawasun.com/.../15991536.html www.ottawasun.com/.../16009841.html and www.ottawacitizen.com/.../story.html
It would be great if people could write letters to the Editor, in support of the protesters and ultimately the hens...
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