Dr. Chris Evans, Professor of Psychology at Macquarie University, Australia

“Chickens exist in stable social groups. They can recognize each other by their facial features. They have 24 distinct cries that communicate a wealth of information to one other, including separate alarm calls depending on whether a predator is travelling by land or sea. They are good at solving problems. As a trick at conferences I sometimes list these attributes, without mentioning chickens, and people think I’m talking about monkeys.” Says Dr. Chris Evans, Professor of Psychology at Macquarie University, Australia.

“Perhaps most persuasive is the chicken’s intriguing ability to understand that an object, when taken away and hidden, nevertheless continues to exist. This is beyond the capacity of small children.”

Jungle fowl and their modern counterparts are omnivores which spend a large part of their waking time pecking and scratching at the ground for food. Their beaks are especially adapted for this activity, with a high concentration of touch receptors and sensory nerves.1

The well-known author and zoologist Dr Desmond Morris has pointed out that studies of birds have shown that their world is subtle and complex, and that they have a complicated set of drives and responses—all of which are denied in factory farms.

As well as scratching and foraging, another important natural behaviour is nesting when a hen wants to lay an egg. Obviously, putting a hen into a cage prevents this and foraging behaviour, which results in signs of extreme frustration. It is also apparent from scientific studies that cage housing inhibits other natural behaviours including flapping their wings, assuming their natural standing alert posture, dust-bathing and preening.2 All of this adds to the behavioural signs of frustration which have been observed in many studies of caged hens.

Even though chickens were domesticated some 8000 years ago—we are still in our infancy in fully understanding their uniqueness. It is clear that chickens have capabilities, natural instincts and behavioural needs well beyond what many have considered. To deny them the opportunity to engage in natural behaviours that bring quality of live is in itself cruel.

Each chicken is an individual living being capable of feeling joy, fear, pain and frustration. These sensitive and interesting animals have done nothing to deserve a life sentence of suffering in today's factory farms. The choice is ours. It is time to Free Betty.

References

[1] See the European Commission Scientific Veterinary Committee Report (1996) at europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/oldcomm4/out33_en.pdf

[2] For more detail, see the website of the Humane Society of the US at hsus.org