200 things non chicken owners don't understand

Day 28

Day 28- your opinion on Commercial meatbird/laying hen conditions. 

I actually wrote a research paper on animals's treatment in the U.S, and Battery yhensvewere include d, so I'm just going to put down the whole paper XD and please watch the youtube link too!!!

ANIMAL TREATMENT IN THE US: should we continue to Use animals for entertainment, food sources and testing?

       Have you ever considered where your eggs come from? What happens behind the scenes of the Kentucky derby? How you know your beauty products are safe to use? Most people don't give it much thought, or assume the animals have good treatment. The harsh reality is just the opposite. Millions of animals in the U.S suffer every year because of this, and it should be stopped. Veal calves and Battery hens are kept in tiny cages, Greyhounds and Thoroughbreds are killed on the track every day, and animals are injected and killed only for beauty products. Are you willing to go that far for beauty, entertainment, and food?

Testing on animals for cosmetics is considered a crucial item for companies who rely on the animals to test the safety of their products, but there are many alternate tests that can be done to avoid using animals for testing, many of which have proven more efficient than using animals. One of these tests includes scientists creating artificial skin, which has scientifically proven to show better results than testing a product on a rabbit or monkey. The animals commonly used in testing are rabbits, Guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, rats, baboons and monkeys. Did you know that animal testing includes using medieval torture methods? The animals are chained to tables or boards and injected with various chemicals. Oftentimes the animal does not survive the procedure, and those who do are either euthanized afterwards or doomed to spend the rest of their lives in captivity. Once the tests are over, the animals are put back into cages. They are not treated for the injuries testing caused, and are often starved for days before given food. Over 600 companies worldwide have cruelty free products. There is little information on the benefits for testing on animals, but companies claim that using animals for testing is beneficial for human safety, although many alternate tests have proven otherwise. Not only Is not using animals for testing good for the animals, but it is also more environmentally friendly, either creating less waste, or being less toxic to the environment.

Greyhound races are enjoyed by many, although they are becoming much less popular in the United states. Only six States still have active race tracks that allow this gruesome sport to continue: West Virginia, Alabama, Iowa, Florida, Arkansas, and Texas. Over half of all American greyhound races are held in Florida. Greyhounds are commonly fatally injured or killed in training or in real races, often getting electrocuted from the electric fence, heart attacks, broken necks, broken spines, and shattered skulls. The typical lifespan of the average Greyhound is 10-12 years, although racing Greyhounds don't usually make it past 4 or 5. Some Greyhounds are culled at 18 months old, before ever running their first race. Breeders cull hundreds of these puppies per year because of 'natural selection', deeming the unfortunate dogs unfit to race. Outside of racing, Greyhounds are either confined to small, cages, only being fed every few days, or training hard on training race tracks or treadmills. the average retiring age for Greyhounds is 4 because of injuries that make them unable to continue racing or they just aren't fast enough to make good money anymore. After retiring, 4 out of 5 Greyhounds are euthanized, no longer serving their purpose as money making racing dogs. The other greyhounds become breeding stock or end up in animal shelters. Sadly, Greyhounds aren't the only victims. to enhance their performance, many Greyhounds are put on drugs that make them run faster. Since 2008, 18 greyhounds have been positively tested for cocaine. To get the dogs to run, a bait animal is put on the track to race, usually a possum, kitten, rabbit, or pig. The dogs chase the bait animals, and the animals are usually brutally killed or severely injured after the race. Horseracing is a common sport that millions enjoy, including equestrians themselves, but not many know what happens to the horses after their racing days are over. It usually isn't the nice retirement many imagine. In the U.S alone about 2 racehorses die on track per day due to injuries, and many more euthanized for the same reason. Many racehorses enjoy racing, but some horses only race because they are forced. Although it is illegal, some jockeys cheat using a small device, similar to a hand buzzer prank, but stronger. As soon as the starting gates open, the horse speeds out of the gates, being shocked on the neck repeatedly until they reach top speed. Eventually, the jockey stops using the buzzer, because the horse runs faster, expecting the shock, even when there is none. The horses are exercised hard on treadmills and on practice tracks, and sometimes are beaten when they don't do everything they are supposed to. Despite all their exercise, racehorses spend up to 22 hours a day in their stalls, and Often get ulcers due to an unnatural diet. Once the horse's racing days are over, usually when they are 6 to 7, there are multiple retirement choices for the owner to make. The horse will either go to slaughter, turned out to pasture, become breeding stock, be rehomed, put in a shelter, or be retrained as a hunter- jumper, therapy horse, or a dressage horse. Often, the horses are shipped off to the auction to be sold to slaughter houses. The U.S has banned all slaughter houses, although all of the U.S horses sent to slaughter are sent to Canada or a very large facility in Japan. 148,000 U.S racehorses go to Canada's slaughter house per year. Most of them are race horses. In 2002, famous Racehorse Ferdinand, who won the triple crown, was discovered to have been slaughtered in Japan. If that is the fate of Ferdinand, what happened to other famous racehorses? Many famous stallions and mares sent to breeding facilities are forced to breed , the stallions breeding with hundreds of mares daily. If the horses sent to slaughter are killed for their meat, they at least have a short, painless death, right? Most horses sent to slaughter are shot in the head and collapse, although some horses must be hit multiple painful times before their deaths. Some horses are even skinned alive, the final blow to the head not actually killing them. The horse meat is sold in stores all around Europe, put in many pet foods, and the bones and tendons are often sold as dog treats. Before slaughter the horses are drugged with anti- inflammatory drugs and other illegal drugs that are known to be harmful to humans, yet it is sold in many French, Swedish, and other European stores for human consumption. Veal calves and Battery hens are two different animals that are very similar in the way they are raised. As chicks, future battery hens are sorted out between male and female chicks. The roosters are put on a conveyer belt just hours after hatching, along with egg shells and dead chicks. The conveyer belt ends with a deadly trip into a grinder, where the unwanted male chicks and late hatchers are dropped in and ground alive. Those deemed good enough to live move on to an even worse fate. From the beginning, the females are treated as items, roughly vaccinated and de-beaked with a machine. They move from one conveyer belt to another, and any male chicks that made it through are sent back to the grinder. Once the hen grows up to laying age, they are put into small battery cages. Up to 20 hens are put into each cage, each hen only having 76 square inches of space. That's smaller than a sheet of paper, which is roughly 94 square inches. Their feet become cut up and hurt badly because of the wire bottoms, and they cannot even stand up straight or stretch their wings. The hot, stuffy air leads to a variety of diseases that often leads to the death of many hens, however, the bodies are removed quickly. After they have served their purpose as laying hens for about a year, the year-old birds are hauled off in uncovered trucks to become broth. with the same cage conditions as before, only this time, many hens die due to heatstroke, freeze to death, or simply because of stress. Veal calves also have a horrific start and finish, just like the Battery hens. As soon as the calves are born, they are taken away from their mothers and thrown into veal crates, just barely large enough for the calves to turn around in. They are raised with an artificial milk formula, sometimes mixed with a small portion real milk. They are slaughtered when they are only about 18-20 weeks old. In some factories, the calve are regularly kicked in the side or prodded with electric prods. Some workers try to make it even more painful by dumping water on the calves before prodding them. At the end of their life, some undercover activists have reported and shown proof of the calves still being alive and conscious while being skinned, all of which are illegal under the slaughterhouse regulations.

            There are many alternate ways of obtaining resources and enjoying a race without so much cruelty. Companies can stop using animals for testing and begin using Artificial skin tests or other tests that don't involve animals. Greyhounds shouldn't be forced to run and be given better environments so they can be normal dogs for once. Racehorses also need time in pasture and a better, more natural diet. Slaughterhouses need to be shut down, or find a way to humanely put down the horses. Veal calves need more natural conditions to be raised in and should be properly killed before being skinned, and Battery hens can be raised free range. As a bonus, pasture raised veal calves are healthier and free-range hens are much healthier, cheaper to feed, and their eggs have been proven to be much more healthy and flavorful than eggs from Caged hens. We do not have to stop using animals for entertainment and food, but these animals should be treated with kindness and should be raised right.