Battery farming of chickens should end

IN all the radio and television commentary on bird flu and in the many dozens of articles I have read on the subject, nowhere have I come across a single reference to the ethics of how the modern factory farmed bird is bred, raised and slaughtered.

Yet many problems arise as a result of the perverse and brutal manipulation and exploitation of animals by humans.

The manner in which chickens are intensively reared (14 billion alone in China) may not be at the root of the bird flu outbreak, but it has contributed greatly to the potential for it to spread rapidly.

Something has gone profoundly wrong with the manner in which animals are produced. The chicken is just one example of how humans have callously exploited an innocent, sentient creature. It should perhaps come as no surprise to anyone that such an industry is about to get its just deserts.

Gerry Boland

Animals in Crisis

Keadue

Co Roscommon