Eastern Shore Sanctuary Blog

Most folks know that farm stores sell baby chicks, especially come springtime. The Eastern Shore Sanctuary and Education Center, of course, adamantly opposes this practice if for no other reason than it condones the sale of a living creature. All creatures are equally and inherently entitled to live their own lives and not be bred, bought, and sold at the whims of any other creatures. There are, of course, many other reasons to oppose this practice, such as the fact that the chicks are mailed via the USPS to the farm stores from hatcheries that are as barbaric as anything a typical factory farm has to offer, and the fact that so many people tire of their purchases after awhile and then seek to either dump or kill the grown chickens (especially when they turn out to be roosters).

However, Buccheit has gone too far. Check out their site: http://www.buchheitonline.com/

They are not only giving away chicks but they are also targeting the promotion to children. It’s hard to imagine a more irresponsible, cruel way to make a buck.

Please contact Buccheit (stores below) and politely but firmly insist that this sales promotion stop at once.

For the animals,

Miriam

Buchheit Corporate Office
33 P.C.R. 540
Perryville, MO 63775
(573)547-1010
Office Hours
Mon-Fri 8:00am to 5:00pm
http://www.buchheitonline.com/

Locations:

Buchheit of Perryville
1011 South Hwy 51
Perryville, MO 63775
(573)547-6565
Mon-Sat 7:00am to 8:00pm
Sunday 9:00am to 5:30pm

Buchheit of Jacksonville
2200 West Morton Ave.
Jacksonville, IL 62650
(217)245-4440
Mon-Sat 7:00am to 8:00pm
Sunday 9:00am to 5:30pm

Buchheit of Herculaneum
200 Riverview
Herculaneum, MO 63048
(636)475-6020
Mon-Sat 7:00am to 9:00pm
Sunday 8:00am to 6:00pm

Buchheit of Sparta
1817 North Market
Sparta, IL 62286
(618)443-2455
Mon-Sat 8:00am to 8:00pm
Sunday 9:00am to 5:30pm

Buchheit of Jackson
2801 Old Orchard Rd.
Jackson, MO 63755
(573)204-1700

Mon-Sat 7:00am to 9:00pm
Sunday 9:00am to 5:30pm

Buchheit of Greenville
1400 E. City Rt. 40
Greenville, IL 62246
(618)664-9100
Store Hours
Mon-Sat 8:00am to 8:00pm
Sunday 9:00am to 5:30pm

Buchheit of Centralia
1045 W. Broadway
In the Fairview Park Plaza
Centralia, IL 62801
(618)533-3850
Mon-Sat 8:00am to 8:00pm
Sunday 9:00am to 5:30pm

At the Eastern Shore Sanctuary and Education Center, we are quite familiar
with the phenomenon Natalie Angier exemplifies so perfectly in her essay
“Sorry, Vegans: Brussels Sprouts Like to Live, Too.” We call it psychic
self-defense.

And so, while I will refute Angier’s primary argument against veganism
later in this response, I believe it is instructive to first think about
the phenomenon itself.

It goes something like this. Angier likes the taste of flesh and, more
significantly, believes that her desire for flesh precludes any and all
rights of other living creatures to — well, live. Her desire also trumps
the right of other living creatures to be spared unimaginable fates like
forced reproduction, traumatic living conditions, and painful slaughter.

But Angier does not say “I want to eat flesh and I don’t care who suffers
for it.” She apparently needs to shield herself from such direct talk –
and any responsibility for her choices — by adopting specious and
irrelevant arguments.

It is extraordinarily painful to see, let alone admit, that one’s
unnecessary actions have led to horrific pain, suffering, and misery. This
is why so many spouses of abusive parents deny the abuse ever took place:
they cannot bear to see their own culpability in the situation.

And this is why vegans need never open our mouths to question, let alone
condemn, the food “choices” about which Angier writes so blithely. All we
need do is simply STATE that we are vegan — that we choose to not consume
the flesh or bodily products of other animals — and we are attacked by a
barrage of arguments all deployed to shield the non-vegan from his or her
own psychic pain.

This phenomenon — this psychic self-defense — leads Angier to base the
core of her essay on a weathered old chestnut: Veganism Doesn’t Make Sense
Because Plants Suffer Too. Cloaked in the language of Angier’s article and
draped in the mantle of Science, it’s an argument that seems to make
perfect sense. Too bad it’s completely inaccurate.

First, let me state that I am absolutely convinced that plants have a
consciousness far beyond anything we humans can comprehend at this point
in our evolutionary process. I also believe plants exhibit a
responsiveness that, again, humans can try to fathom, but thus far eludes
our best efforts to do so.

But those beliefs — call them facts if you want — are entirely
irrelevant to whether or not fauna should consume flora. All creatures who
live upon this earth have evolved based upon one simple rule: we all
consume plant matter. I will say that again. Every single living thing on
this planet, either directly or else through prey animals, eats plants.
Possibly because of this, plants have no nervous systems. Thus, they
cannot feel pain like Angier’s duck who was killed by being dipped in
electrified water, beheaded by a revolving blade that might well have
missed its mark, and stripped of feathers quite possibly while still
conscious.

The bottom line is that we as humans need not consume animals or their
products in order to remain healthy. In fact, extensive and overwhelming
evidence shows that such consumption is unhealthy for humans. But we do
need to consume plants to live, just like every other creature on the face
of this earth.

If the plants had an issue with that, they would have made that clear a
long time ago. I’m not being glib or snide; I agree with Angier and her
cadre of scientists that plants are far more than the barely animate
objects most humans think they are. Having said that, the reality is that
on this planet, what we call life has evolved such that all creatures
consume others to live, and all creatures, in the end, consume plants. And
since this is the case, I find it entirely reasonable that the creatures
who will always end up as someone’s food never chose to develop a nervous
system. No nerves, no pain.

Lest another chestnut be dragged out to refute my counter-argument — the
claim that because some animals eat other animals, we have the right to do
the same — I will say that we have no control over what lions or whales
do to survive; nor should we. But we do have control over our own choices.
To minimize the pain we cause as we move through this world is a choice
that is easily made. Sadly, though, most of us refuse to make this choice.
We prefer to cause unnecessary pain — pain caused by greed and desire as
opposed to our need to survive — and then justify our choice using
arguments designed for maximum self-protection.

Angier is simply grasping at every available straw of justification to
protect herself and her choices. She wants to believe she deserves to eat
the flesh of birds and fish just because she likes the taste of them. Deep
inside, though, something is surely telling her that she is dead wrong, or
she wouldn’t feel so compelled to lash out at those who make what she
asserts are “arbitrary” and (by implication) neutral food choices.

One can only hope that she, along with other self-delusional flesh-eaters,
will one day have the courage to see what they are doing to the innocent
victims of their “choices.”

This coming Tuesday, the fabulous Toronto-based radio show “Animal Voices” will interview Eastern Shore Sanctuary worker Miriam Jones about rehabilitating cockfighting roosters.

The show will air between 11 AM and NOON, eastern time, on Tuesday, November 10, 2009.

If none of your local radio stations will air the show, you can check it out online, either here: www.animalvoices.ca

or here:

www.ciut.fm.

For the animals,

Miriam

On backyard bird forums, Freecycle lists, Craig’s List, anywhere you can!

Below is a statement put forth by the Eastern Shore Sanctuary in conjunction with Animal Place, Chicken Run Rescue, Farm Sanctuary, Sunny Skies Bird and Animal Sanctuary, and United Poultry Concerns. In it we list the reasons why people should fight this growing trend of ordering and keeping backyard flocks of chickens, and what can be done should folks feel insistent upon doing so.

For the animals,

Miriam, Eastern Shore Sanctuary and Education Center

Collective Position Statement on Backyard Poultry

In the past couple of years, the practice of keeping chickens in urban and semi-rural backyards has increased.

People keep chickens for a variety of reasons: opposition to factory farming; a desire to eat fresh eggs; a genuine love for chickens as companion animals. Like other fads, this one has drawbacks which hatcheries and chicken breeders don’t want you to know about.

If you truly enjoy the company of chickens and believe that all animals should be treated with kindness and justice, please consider these facts before organizing your own backyard flock:

¨Chicken feed and excrement attract rodents to your house.

Some of the Dangers of Living Near Rats

Hatcheries, like McMurray Hatchery, treat chickens no better than factory farms do. In fact, they ARE factory farms. Their treatment of chicks is abominable and comparable to the mistreatment of dogs in puppy mills.

Video of Hatchery Practices
Video of Turkey Hatchery with Similar Practices
Facts about Hatcheries

Sending chicks through the mail is abusive. Temperature-sensitive chicks should not be boxed up without food or water for up to 72 hours and transported through the postal service. Please note: Purchasing chicks at feed stores is the same as ordering them through the mail. Contrary to appearances, those chicks do not come from local farms, but from mega-hatcheries.

Dangers of Shipping Chicks by Mail
Dangers of Shipping Chicks by Mail, Part Two

¨ Hatcheries will send you roosters even if you ask them not to. They use roosters as packing material and chicken sexing is more art than science. While cities may be zoned for hens, most prohibit roosters, leaving them to be abandoned or killed at shelters.

Roosters as Packing Material

¨Chickens need proper housing and fenced-in yards to survive inclement weather and predators. They also need easy access to fresh food and clean water at all times, a clean yard and sleeping space and good veterinary care.

Providing a Good Home to Chickens
Providing a Good Home to Chickens Part Two
Providing a Good Home to Chickens Part Three

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

If you are not zoned for chickens, keep it that way! There are too many problems with chickens living in urban environments.

If your town or city is already zoned for chickens, check out the specifics of the ordinances and ensure that they are as humane as possible.

If you have read through all of this material and still want to live with chickens, adopt from a farmed animal sanctuary or animal shelter. Note, though, that sanctuaries have strict adoption protocols to protect the animals.

CONTACTS:

Animal Place
Chicken Run Rescue
Eastern Shore Sanctuary and Education Center
Farm Sanctuary
Sunny Skies Bird and Animal Sanctuary
United Poultry Concerns

Two weeks and one day into the rehabilitation process, two of the new roosters are FREE! Free of the “training” cages they live in during the day out in the yards while they get used to being around other birds whom they are not forced to fight. Free of the crates in which they sleep at night (and therefore free to sleep in the coops, perching or not as they wish).

What’s especially nice is that some of our more feral-ish chickens (including some very young birds) have decided to hang out with them also. I say “especially” because these guys have never known the company of chickens unless it was a situation filled with fear and violence. Watching them peacefully scratching in the leaves together fills me with more happiness than I can possibly express.

And more melancholy also, of course, as I know full well that for every guy we help save, there are countless others who are either living in abject misery right now, or else doomed for death, even if they are rescued, because most folks are afraid to give them a chance.

In any case, there are three still under cages, being let out a few times a day until they fight and are put back in the cages. Some roosters need a bit longer to learn that fighting isn’t a great idea any longer. But they will learn; we’ve never worked with a rooster who was unreachable.

Wish we could say that about humans…..

For the animals,

Miriam, Eastern Shore Sanctuary

Hey!

Lots going on for us in the computer world, so I wanted to bring you all up to speed. So to speak. We have two main news items to share.

First of all, we are on Facebook! Search for us as Eastern Shore Sanctuary, and become our friend!

Second of all, we have registered with Goodsearch.com! If you haven’t heard of them, here is the information:

GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!

And if you download the GoodSearch – Eastern Shore Sanctuary toolbar, our cause will earn money every time you shop and search online - even if you forget to go to GoodShop or GoodSearch first! Add the Eastern Shore Sanctuary toolbar at http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar

Until next time,

Miriam, Eastern Shore Sanctuary

This blog has been rooster-heavy for some time, but there is a reason for that. In the past couple of months, we have taken in almost 40 roosters. In addition, some of the young chickens whom we’ve taken in have — you guessed it — turned out to be roosters.

We love our guys. We remain committed to providing good homes for as many of them as we can safely and healthfully house. However, physical space and group dynamics being what they are preclude us from taking in as many roosters as we would like to be able to do care for.

Are you living in a place where chickens are allowed to live (zoned agricultural)? Do you have room for a rooster or two? If so, drop us a line at sanctuary@bravebirds.org. We would love to talk with you about the possibility of adoption.

It’s been almost a week now and the cacophony is KINDA SORTA calming down.

Yes, I’m referring to the crowing of the 23 roosters from Farm Sanctuary in combination with the crowing of the roosters who were already here, all of whom seem to set each other off. No wonder these guys are crowing up a storm! One day they’re scratching about in familiar dirt; the next day they are loaded onto a metal truck and plopped down in a new coop. How crazy is that?

But as with all of us, they are learning to adapt. It’s fall here in Vermont, of course, which means lots of falling leaves (their yard has lots of trees mixed in with some open areas), so they are having to get used to things falling upon them from the sky. They are having to get used to new smells, new tastes, new everything. But of course they have each other, and that’s been a big help I’m sure. I’m sure the roosters remaining at Farm Sanctuary are missing their brothers, but I’m also sure they too will learn to adapt, and in the end, as always, the hope is that the change is for their benefit.

Not wanting to forget the hens of COURSE! Four hens came with their friend Smokey the rooster at the same time. After a bit of hen-fighting (yes, it does happen) with some of the hens here, they calmed down. It seems that hens adapt much more quickly than roosters; Smokey is still getting used to not being the only boy. But he’s getting there.

If you’re a Facebook person, check out some photos of the new arrivals — yes, we have a new Facebook page! The pics will be uploaded in a couple-few days at most.

According to this newspaper article, a couple in Massachusetts beat up a man who had asked them to quit shouting obscenities at the Kentucky Fried Chicken worker who was slow in preparing their order. This makes a lot of sense to me (pattrice). If you’re willing to rip the wings off a bird just so you can have a snack, why wouldn’t you feel entitled to yell profanities at somebody who moves more slowly than you’d like or beat up somebody who displeases you?

***** PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY!!! *******

Three months ago, 21 roosters were seized by the Page County Sheriff's
Office in Virginia as part of their bust of an illegal cockfighting
operation. Finally, due to very hard work on the part of deputies, public
attorneys, and other county personnel, they are now able to be released.
Their release date is the first week of October, 2009.

The Eastern Shore Sanctuary and Education Center will be taking eight (8)
of the most aggressive birds, the maximum number we can rehabilitate at
once. Over the past five years, we have honed a rehabilitation technique
to the point that within a month or so, these guys will be able to mix and
mingle with the rest of the flocks here.

THAT LEAVES THIRTEEN ROOSTERS WHO WILL BE KILLED IF HOMES ARE NOT FOUND
BY OCTOBER 6, 2009.

It is critical to note that over the past three months, these roosters
have calmed down considerably. They are NOT, repeat NOT showing signs of
active aggression, and while they might need a bit of work, they will not
require nearly the level of time and effort to rehabilitate as the others
will.

We are willing to work via phone and email to explain the VERY EASY
rehabilitation methods we've developed over time. Very little in the way
of equipment is needed, and if you do it well, it's DONE.

We desperately need sanctuaries who are willing to give this a chance.

Contact the Eastern Shore Sanctuary at 802-885-4017 or
sanctuary@bravebirds.org. Even if you aren’t SURE about it but might
CONSIDER the idea, give a call and we will be very happy to talk about it.

For the animals,

The Eastern Shore Sanctuary and Education Center