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This is a very good point. What I would certainly term reasonable measures are already in place via the humane society and local law enforcement departments to see to the greater welfare of chickens, pets and livestock. No one who can be discovered will just simply be able to get away with abusing animals. A lot of the perspective here in this comes down to whether or not you think eating animals is abusing animals and who gets the right to tell you what you can do or cannot do with your animals or whether you can even have them in the first place.
There was a woman cited in our local newspapers this past summer who had over 50 animals (livestock and pets) removed from her home because she had more than she could possibly care for and they were living under unacceptable conditions (ie. horses whose hooves had not been trimmed for a very long time). All the animals were taken and sent to be hopefully rehomed and she was fined. Sad thing is, she thought she was running some sort of animal sanctuary.
Also, we see a little bit of irony in that when the neighbor's dog comes after your flock, you want them treated under the same rights given to livestock owners--but if the city police comes knocking on your door for neighborhood disturbance, you want them considered as pets. Everybody has their own reasons for owning their chickens, but ultimately we are talking about an animal that has long been considered as livestock.
Around here, there is no such thing as hoards of homeless roosters. They go in the pot. If you don't have the heart to do it, you give them to someone who can. But if you take on an animal that has certain characteristics to its usefulness and is generally considered as livestock, you have to be prepared to do what has gotta be done. (And I know there are lots of pet roosters out there, but for the most part people want laying hens.) This is where the trendiness aspect comes in to play. With a dog, gender is not such an issue! Education and proper expectations are going to be essential for the success of potential city-dwelling chicken owners.
So it's kind of a catch 22... The only people who will take spent hens and homeless roosters have no inclination to dispatch them (as we pragmatic country people can and will do). They'd also rather that chicken owners or anyone else not dispatch them either, so they are filled to overflowing with animals they can't hehome or maintain, thus the push to reduce those numbers of chickens coming to them in the first place.
Sometimes what seems kindest to an animal really isn't in its best interest ultimately. If you take for example deer hunting--there are many people who think it's mean and unnecessary to shoot and eat deer. But without the careful management of DNR to adjust seasonal bag limits, and if no one at all hunted deer, you would have a population explosion of them to the point that they were all either dying of wasting disease or getting hit by cars. It may not be pretty, but it is necessary to control their population, and effectively more humane as well. All these chickens have to go somewhere!
This is a very good point. What I would certainly term reasonable measures are already in place via the humane society and local law enforcement departments to see to the greater welfare of chickens, pets and livestock. No one who can be discovered will just simply be able to get away with abusing animals. A lot of the perspective here in this comes down to whether or not you think eating animals is abusing animals and who gets the right to tell you what you can do or cannot do with your animals or whether you can even have them in the first place.
There was a woman cited in our local newspapers this past summer who had over 50 animals (livestock and pets) removed from her home because she had more than she could possibly care for and they were living under unacceptable conditions (ie. horses whose hooves had not been trimmed for a very long time). All the animals were taken and sent to be hopefully rehomed and she was fined. Sad thing is, she thought she was running some sort of animal sanctuary.
Also, we see a little bit of irony in that when the neighbor's dog comes after your flock, you want them treated under the same rights given to livestock owners--but if the city police comes knocking on your door for neighborhood disturbance, you want them considered as pets. Everybody has their own reasons for owning their chickens, but ultimately we are talking about an animal that has long been considered as livestock.
Around here, there is no such thing as hoards of homeless roosters. They go in the pot. If you don't have the heart to do it, you give them to someone who can. But if you take on an animal that has certain characteristics to its usefulness and is generally considered as livestock, you have to be prepared to do what has gotta be done. (And I know there are lots of pet roosters out there, but for the most part people want laying hens.) This is where the trendiness aspect comes in to play. With a dog, gender is not such an issue! Education and proper expectations are going to be essential for the success of potential city-dwelling chicken owners.
So it's kind of a catch 22... The only people who will take spent hens and homeless roosters have no inclination to dispatch them (as we pragmatic country people can and will do). They'd also rather that chicken owners or anyone else not dispatch them either, so they are filled to overflowing with animals they can't hehome or maintain, thus the push to reduce those numbers of chickens coming to them in the first place.
Sometimes what seems kindest to an animal really isn't in its best interest ultimately. If you take for example deer hunting--there are many people who think it's mean and unnecessary to shoot and eat deer. But without the careful management of DNR to adjust seasonal bag limits, and if no one at all hunted deer, you would have a population explosion of them to the point that they were all either dying of wasting disease or getting hit by cars. It may not be pretty, but it is necessary to control their population, and effectively more humane as well. All these chickens have to go somewhere!
