Przeciwko jakimkolwiek klatkom dla kur
Niedawno organizacja United Poultry Concerns wraz z innymi, które zajmują się opieką nad uratowanymi zwierzętami, wydała oświadczenie w sprawie tzw. wzbogaconych klatek dla kur. Mają być one obligatoryjne na terenie UE od 2012 roku, a i w Kalifornii od 2015. W wątku "Co wchodzi w cenę jaj" Kaśka Biernacka tłumaczyła dlaczego system bezklatkowy chowu kur trudno uznać za akceptowalny. Stanowisko zatytułowane "Farmed Animal Sanctuaries Oppose “Enriched” Cages for Laying Hens: No Caged Housing System for Chickens is Acceptable" jest sprzeciwem wobec jakichkolwiek klatek.
United Poultry Concerns napisał(a):
"Enriched" cages are being promoted (and in some places are already being used)
by egg producers as a "humane" alternative to conventional, barren wire cages
for egg-laying hens in North America and Europe. An "enriched" cage has a tiny
perch and nest box, and maybe a little box of sand or wood shavings for the
hens to scratch and dustbathe in, within the confines of their cage. The hens
have "extra" space, about the size of a postcard, in a metal-plastic
environment containing a clutter of tiny dollhouse items. The "enriched" cages
are stacked 6 to 12 tiers high in industrial egg-production operations.
Depending on size and design, each cage holds from 10 to 60 hens, and photos of
some cage models show an increased use of siding enclosing the hens with their
"furniture."
As directors of animal sanctuaries that rehabilitate and work directly with
chickens, including brown and white egg-laying hens, we oppose "enriched" cages
and dispute industry claims that these cluttered little prisons meet their
needs. Chickens, including egg-laying hens, are semi-migratory birds with
innate needs and interests. They have beaks and claws for foraging, legs and
wings for walking, running, and perching, and studies show (and we know) that
chickens are disinclined to perch on a little stick two to three inches from
the ground or floor as in these "enriched" cages.
Chickens maintain hygiene by dustbathing and preening. Industrial chicken
houses are densely polluted with toxic gases and airborne debris – floating
feathers, dander, and pathogens. Thousands of little "sandboxes" will increase
the airborne debris in the caged environment. An increase in airborne dust and
dirt, as when a hen is flinging sand with her beak and claws during her
dustbath, then vigorously shaking out the particles from her feathers and skin
following the bath, will increase respiratory and eye irritation.
(...)
Realizing that no commercial confinement system can ever meet
the complex behavioral and cognitive needs and interests of chickens, and even
assuming that "enriched" cages inflict less total misery on hens than barren
cages do, we condemn the "enriched" cage as a particularly cruel and
egregiously inhumane and falsely represented housing system for laying hens.
Nobody who knows chickens and cares about them can support their being confined
in a cage in a building filled with cages. The cage system for egg-laying hens
is inherently cruel and inhumane and needs to be eliminated completely.
For more information, including a photo of a typical "enriched" metal cage, see
the HSUS Report: Welfare Issues with Furnished Cages for Egg-Laying Hens at
http://bit.ly/aVN6A0.
Organizations Endorsing This Position Statement:
* United Poultry Concerns - http://www.upc-online.org (karen@upc-online.org)
* Animal Place - http://www.animalplace.org/ (kim@animalplace.org)
* Chenoa Manor Animal Sanctuary - http://www.chenoamanor.org/
(ChenoaManor@aol.com)
* Chicken Run Rescue - http://www.brittonclouse.com/chickenrunrescue/
(chickenrunrescue@comcast.net)
* Chocowinity Chicken Sanctuary & Education Center, Inc. -
http://www.chocochickensanctuary.org/ (evanssu@ecu.edu )
* Eastern Shore Sanctuary and Education Center - http://www.bravebirds.org/
(sanctuary@bravebirds.org)
* Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary - http://www.animalsanctuary.org/
(poplarspringanimal@yahoo.com)
* Sunnyskies Bird and Animal Sanctuary - http://www.sunnyskiesbirdsanctuary.org/ (sunnyskies@optonline.net)
* Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary - http://www.woodstocksanctuary.org/
(jenny@woodstocksanctuary.org)
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United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes the
compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl.
Don't just switch from beef to chicken. Go Vegan.
http://www.UPC-online.org