Did anyone else know this about the egg industry?
Discussion
I won't watch the video to be on the safe side as given the comments above it doens't sound nice.
But I am fully aware that males are killed. Friend is a farmer and we get the freshly killed males for our dogs/cats.
I thought that they were put into the pet food chain though - for birds of prey etc.
But I am fully aware that males are killed. Friend is a farmer and we get the freshly killed males for our dogs/cats.
I thought that they were put into the pet food chain though - for birds of prey etc.
Japveesix said:
They are, the video states that they go for reptile food. Seems fairly reasonable to me, not exactly wasted 
I am glad they aren't wasted and appreciate in terms of running a business it is probably a necessary evil. What I didn't realise was how brutally the chicks are treated, that vaccination/beak cutting machine looked nasty. Mobile Chicane said:
Watch the video through and it alleges that while some male chicks are humanely gassed, frozen, and sold to pet shops as snake food, those on less considerate farms get dropped into the mincer alive.
Not good.
The video said it was the RSPCA and Humane Slaughter Association recommended method. Which must be true, otherwise the hippies would have had a field day about it.Not good.
Not very nice seeing the macerator, but i guess it is a very quick death. I think its the sheer numbers that makes it seem gruesome as well.
Also to do with the beak cutting and vaccination, would it actually hurt cutting off the end of the beak? I can imagine it just being like cutting off the end of your nail. And being vaccinated is no different that giving injections to our pets, just that its done by a vet whilst we pin them down as opposed to a machine doing it
Also to do with the beak cutting and vaccination, would it actually hurt cutting off the end of the beak? I can imagine it just being like cutting off the end of your nail. And being vaccinated is no different that giving injections to our pets, just that its done by a vet whilst we pin them down as opposed to a machine doing it
Pints said:
I wonder if the hand-wringers for minced or gassed chicks are as vocal regarding the murder of female babies in China or the countless abortions which take place each year.
It's not really relevant though is it. You can be against animal cruelty as well as human cruelty (that is not to say I believe abortion is cruelty).Jasandjules said:
I thought that they were put into the pet food chain though - for birds of prey etc.
I have not watched the video, frankly because I can't be arsed. Half of all chicks born to go into the egg industry are always going to be male and therefore useless. They are bred to produce eggs, not meat, so will be useless. I have no idea how many replacement hens are required each year, but it will be millions. You'd need to hatch twice as many as you need as half of them are useless, so there will easily be millions of useless chicks to dispose of. It would probably be possible to feed every Kestrel in the country to the point of obesity with all the male chicks.
There is a bloke near here that keeps dozens of "free range" hens and a few ducks. I'd not buy eggs off him if he was the only egg producer in the northern hemisphere. He looks grossly over stocked, he's not rested the paddock in getting on for 10 years, sometimes he can't be arsed to let the hens out until he gets his fat arse out of bed mid morning, his ducks have never got enough water and always look like s
te. The hens in the high intensity units will be looked after by people who really know they stuff. They have to get it right every single day of the year, because firstly the margins are very tight and secondly the stocking rate has to be so high (because of the margins) that any infection or problem with power will take the whole flock out in hours. They will be monitored 24/7, they'll have the optimum lighting, ventilation, water and feed, the disease control will be 100 %, everything will be right.
I have no doubt that some people are struggling for money now, mid recession, but by and large we are a wealthy nation, relatively and food is dirt cheap. Not only is it dirt cheap, but it is of very high quality. Look at the crap the people used to eat in the past. Food could have been anything, flour was bulked up with any s
t that remotely looked like flour, no matter what it was. We grow potatoes, wheat, oil seed rape and peas at work. We can tell you every last drop of fertiliser and pesticide that has been put on the land going back years. We would tell you when it was applied, how much, the wind strength, direction, time of day, the operator, machine, crop growth stage, never mind all of the cultivations and the records that go with that, and the same applies for livestock.
We eat meat, meat comes from animals and animals have to be killed to make it. I will fight for your right not to eat it, that is your choice, but if you are going to eat it and are concerned about animal welfare, then eat meat that has been produced in the UK or at least western Europe. Just remember that the animals are not pets, they are much better taken care of than that.
TheEnd said:
"Stop this unimaginable waste - Don't buy eggs"
How about "fk off you hippy tossers".
How about "f
k off you hippy tossers".Robb F said:
I'm gonna get shot down for this. But what a bunch of limp wristed yoghurt knitters.
Why does having concerns about animal welfare mean that you are a hippy or yoghurt knitter? Because it is based on the the false view that animals are equal to us.
We didn't get to the top of the food chain by standing still and photosynthesising, we earned this position fair and square.
Chickens had their chance, and they were happier eating grit and freezing if you draw a line in the sand away from them.
We didn't get to the top of the food chain by standing still and photosynthesising, we earned this position fair and square.
Chickens had their chance, and they were happier eating grit and freezing if you draw a line in the sand away from them.
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