The Most Abused Animal on the Planet Is …

Do you know one of those people who says, “I’m a vegetarian, but I still eat chicken”? Considering that chickens are arguably the most abused animals on the planet, they should be one of the first animals we remove from our plates—and there’s no better time to do that than World Week for Abolition of Meat.

Chickens’ cognitive skills rival those of cats, dogs, and, in some cases, primates. They are adept communicators who develop complex social structures. Chickens show deep love for their family members and care for others in their group. A mother chicken starts teaching her chicks to “talk” before they have even hatched, clucking softly to them, and they cluck back to her and each other from inside their shells. Human babies cannot replicate their mothers’ sounds until they are several months old.

But the billions of chickens who are slaughtered for food or crammed into cages and used for eggs suffer horribly throughout their short lives.

If you know someone who still eats chickens, please share this information with them and ask them to become a champion for chickens.

Written by Michelle Sherrow