We've just launched a new case studies page that sheds light on the hidden lives of chickens in Aotearoa, exposing how they're used in animal testing and the food industry.
The connection is clear: animal agriculture fuels the demand for experimentation to make chickens more profitable.
Did you know? There are five times more chickens living in New Zealand than humans—that's even more than our sheep population!1
Chickens are fascinating animals with abilities that often go unnoticed.
- The visible spectrum for chickens is much broader than for humans. This means that chickens can not only see colour better, they can also see wavelengths of light that are not visible to us.2
- Chickens seem to have an opinion of human beauty. Research has shown at least, that chickens trained to react to "average" faces will react more when presented with faces where "desirable" traits are exaggerated. Chickens reacted the same as humans in this study.3
- They can understand the connection between an object and a photograph of the object.4
- They have at least some concept of time and are able to correctly respond to a lit key, depending on the amount of time it was on.5
For all their incredible traits, chickens are among the most exploited animals in Aotearoa. The majority of experiments they are subjected to are driven by one goal: making chickens more profitable for human consumption.
The numbers are staggering. In just five scientific papers alone, over 4,500 chickens were used in experiments. This represents only a small fraction of the countless lives affected by experimentation directly tied to increasing chicken production.
Researchers have conducted studies like:
- Testing the effectiveness of painkillers on lame chickens.6
- Lameness is a huge problem in the industry as the animals are made to grow much too fast.
- Measuring chickens' brain responses to pain.7
- Consumers are more conscious about "welfare" and therefore reliable measurements are needed to test painkillers.
- Experimenting with dietary fats to improve protein digestion.8
- Better digestion means more growth and, therefore, profit.
- Measuring the digestion of minerals.9
- Better digestion means more growth and, therefore, profit.
- Testing the digestibility of meat and bone meal.10
- Cheaper bird food means more, you guessed it, profit.
The Illusion of Welfare in Agriculture
One study explored whether chickens could learn to avoid discomfort in their environment.11
Researchers alternated different color food bowls, making one colour food bowl less desirable to access by introducing discomfort while leaving the other bowl safe and easy to approach. The goal was to see if chickens could adapt by learning avoidance behaviors. Such experiments highlight the harsh realities chickens face, as instead of improving their conditions, the focus is on whether they can endure or adjust to unfavorable environments.
The idyllic image of a chicken roaming free range in green grass is unfortunately, more often than not, a lie. Despite the ban on keeping hens in cages in New Zealand since early 2023, the sad truth is that many are still confined under the label of "colony laid." This deceptive practice undermines the progress made to improve animal welfare. Our friends at SAFE are filing a complaint to address this issue, and you can add your voice to support better labeling standards: add your name here.
You can read more about how chickens are used in Aotearoa on our new case studies page here.
You Can Make A Difference
The most powerful way to make a stand for chickens in Aotearoa is by incorporating chicken alternatives into your diet. For some helpful resources like recipes or ways to find vegan replacements for chicken, check out our website. Eating vegan kai diminishes the demand for these cruel experiments!
