Put an end to the shipment of day-old chicks!
- 01
- Mar
Every year, 20 million day-old chicks are thoughtlessly thrown into boxes and shipped as “perishable goods” through the postal service. You have a chance to help stop this horrific practice. All you need to do is take action today!
When allowed to, a mother hen communicates with her chicks through the shell before they hatch. In hatcheries supplying individual buyers or feed-stores, the chicks are born in an incubator with no mother in sight. Within hours of their life, they are sexed, vaccinated, stuffed in boxes, and sent through the mail. According to the United States Postal Service, they are supposed to arrive at their destination within 72 hours. This means, and this is the best-case-scenario, that they are crowded in a dark box without food or water for 3 days. They are shipped year-round, no matter the weather. Chicks endure below freezing winter temperatures and inhumane sweltering summer heat. Can you imagine “mailing” your adopted puppy or kitten under these conditions?
Without a doubt sending day-old babies through the mail is cruel, but recently it has become horrific. Thousands of chicks have arrived dead due to delayed shipments and chaos within the United States Postal Service in the wake of Covid-19. Typically 1-2% percent of chicks die during transit. In August of 2020 entire shipments of chicks were arriving at their destination dead. Farmers in Maine and New Hampshire reported a staggering 4,800 chicks were deceased upon arrival.
People purchase hens because they produce eggs. But, what happens to the male chicks? Most roosters are killed soon after they hatch. Most
commonly they endure asphyxiation by gassing or maceration in high-speed grinders. This means that they are ground alive. The ones who survive are packaged and shipped with the hens. They may be sexed incorrectly, purchased unsexed, or used as “packing peanuts” to help keep the female chicks warm in transit. When people receive unwanted roosters they abandon, kill, or dump them at a shelter or sanctuary. Animal Place gets multiple calls and emails a day about unwanted roosters. If we are unable to take them in, we try to find a safe haven for them in private homes or with other sanctuaries.
The shipment of live-day-old chicks is unethical. We must demand an end to this cruelty. You can use your voice to advocate for chickens. Go to animalplace.org/advocacy/ to sign and send a letter to the United States Postmaster General, find sample letters, and learn more. It only takes a few moments of your time. Take action now and demand that this practice come to an end. Join us in making a difference for the 20 million chicks who face the cruel practice every year.
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14 Responses so far.
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live animals should not be sent by mail. It is cruel. So many of them die.
We absolutely agree! We encourage you to send an email to the United States Postmaster General. You can find more information here: http://animalplace.org/advocacy/
This world has gone to hell. If you don’t want any live animals, we just resort to killing them. How many dogs, cats, etc, do you think we kill every year. Thousands upon thousands. People need to back up and look at what is going on. If people would get on board and take care of business. Worthless adults buy dogs, cats, rabbits, and every other type of species, and decide in a day or so, lets have the animals fend for themselves. That is where your strays, abused , and starved animals come from. In stead of getting them fixed and really trying to put and end to to this abuse that all of our poor animals suffer from. There needs to be stronger laws, l mean real laws. Why have laws, if abusers are only get punishment and given discharge for time served. STOP THE SUFFERING OF OUR ANIMALS. THEY ARE NOT YOURS, GOD HAS LOANED THEM TO US FOR OUR SANITY. GOD BLESS ALL ANIMALS, I REALLY WISH I COULD TAKE CARE OF ALL OF YOU.
This is just wrong, sickening!! Stop this now!
Stop shipment of live chickens. This is inhumane.
We absolutely agree and encourage you to take action to help these innocent chicks!
please, I am begging you not to sell baby chicks or baby ducks to commercial facilities. Carol Smythe
These in humane actions must be outlawed ASAP!!!!
We agree and encourage you to send a letter to the Postmaster General!
I am so disgusted with how these babies are being treated! This has to stop now!
And the crazy thing is, when people receive their dead chicks they turn around and order more! WTH is wrong with people???
It is an upsetting cycle. We hope to help educate others so that they can make more compassionate decisions, like adopting chickens!
This is very inhumane. There is absolutely no justification for treating these babies like this.
This must stop now! I’m disgusted by how the babies are being treated!