Feeding ducks today at the Bedgebury National Pinetum.
Thought for the Day
It has been well known for some time in certain circles that a movement was on foot for the emancipation of the brute creatures (so called) from the thralldom of man. For years a correspondence has been kept up between Africa, the Rocky Mountains, the Jungles of India, and the various Menageries throughout the world; all the beasts were unanimous for freedom.
After deliberation, it was decided that the first blow should be struck in America, while mankind was absorbed in the Presidential election. The next question was what part of America should be selected?
The Animal Declaration of Independence Harper’s January 1857 [edited extract being part one in a series of 19]
The First Visit to Our New Allotment
Thought for the Day
Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn. To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living. Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food. The body, these waterheads imagine, is a temple that should not be polluted by animal protein. It’s healthier, they insist, though every vegetarian waiter I’ve worked with is brought down by any rumor of a cold. Oh, I’ll accommodate them, I’ll rummage around for something to feed them, for a “vegetarian plate,” if called on to do so. Fourteen dollars for a few slices of grilled eggplant and zucchini suits my food cost fine.
Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
Stallwood Animal Rights Archive Update #8
The Grumpy Vegan has catalogued more than 800 books from the Stallwood Animal Rights Archive on LibraryThing. The next update will be made when he’s reached 900 catalogued books. Also, 69 tags are now making it possible to search the library by category (e.g. Animals and literature, Henry Salt, Wildlife). Comments on the tags given to the books are welcome.
Thought for the Day
Broiler (meat) chickens have been subjected to intense genetic selection. In the past 50 years, broiler growth rates have increased by over 300% (from 25 g per day to 100 g per day). There is growing societal concern that many broiler chickens have impaired locomotion or are even unable to walk. Here we present the results of a comprehensive survey of commercial flocks which quantifies the risk factors for poor locomotion in broiler chickens. We assessed the walking ability of 51,000 birds, representing 4.8 million birds within 176 flocks. We also obtained information on approximately 150 different management factors associated with each flock. At a mean age of 40 days, over 27.6% of birds in our study showed poor locomotion and 3.3% were almost unable to walk. The high prevalence of poor locomotion occurred despite culling policies designed to remove severely lame birds from flocks. We show that the primary risk factors associated with impaired locomotion and poor leg health are those specifically associated with rate of growth. Factors significantly associated with high gait score included the age of the bird (older birds), visit (second visit to same flock), bird genotype, not feeding whole wheat, a shorter dark period during the day, higher stocking density at the time of assessment, no use of antibiotic, and the use of intact feed pellets. The welfare implications are profound. Worldwide approximately 2×10 [to the power of 10] broilers are reared within similar husbandry systems. We identify a range of management factors that could be altered to reduce leg health problems, but implementation of these changes would be likely to reduce growth rate and production. A debate on the sustainability of current practice in the production of this important food source is required.
Leg Disorders in Broiler Chickens: Prevalence, Risk Factors and Prevention
