Page 32 - AT

A32 FEATURE
Friday 21 december 2018
What makes chickens happy? Nobody is quite sure

By CANDICE CHOI birds as much light and
Associated Press space as its organic birds,
NEW YORK (AP) — How do which are the same breed.
you measure a chicken's The Humane Society of the
happiness? Is it in the way United States says stepping
it runs for food? How much up living conditions helps,
time it spends preening? but it believes the bigger
To size up what might make problem is breeding that
chickens happy in their brief has resulted in disfigured
lives, researchers at the chickens. It says chickens
University of Guelph in On- have been genetically ma-
tario, Canada, are putting nipulated to have massive
16 breeds through physical breasts their legs cannot
fitness and behavioral tests. support.
They're watching how well "It is crazy for anyone to
birds scramble over a barri- have to remind the industry
er for food, how skittish they that birds naturally walk,"
seem and whether they said Josh Balk, the Humane
play with a fake worm. Society's vice president of
Chickens can't say how farm animal protection.
they feel, but playing with Balk said the study in Can-
a fake worm may be a sign ada will provide important
of happiness. information on what type
"We have to infer when an of chickens might suffer
animal is happy or content less. University of Guelph
or experiencing pleasure This Friday, Oct. 12, 2018 photo shows chickens under observation at the University of Guelph in researchers are also track-
based on their behavior," Ontario, Canada. ing chicken traits like
said Stephanie Torrey, one Associated Press weight, growth rate and
of the researchers. meat quality they hope
In recent years, the animal seeing widespread prob- medical issue. He said try- would be higher too. will be useful to the indus-
welfare world has moved lems as a result. ing to assess welfare is tricky Still, animal welfare is be- try. Aviagen and Tyson-
beyond looking at how to "If they can't move and get beyond established indus- coming a bigger public re- owned Cobb, which supply
minimize suffering to explor- to the feed trough, they're try measures, like whether lations concern, and com- breeds to chicken produc-
ing whether animals can not going to survive," said a chicken dies from disease panies say they're always ers, are providing birds for
also enjoy their lives, Torrey Mike Cockrell, chief finan- before it's slaughtered. looking for ways to take the study, including breeds
said. cial officer for Sanderson The industry says changing better care of their chick- that are widely used.
Such measures may be Farms. breeds is unnecessary, and ens. The companies say they
considered irrelevant by John Glisson of the U.S. that switching to broiler Tyson recently ran a trial already track health and
companies but underscore Poultry and Egg Associa- chickens that don't grow as that let chickens pick from welfare, but that they're in-
a broader lack of consen- tion says broiler chickens big or as fast would mean pens with varying levels of terested in the research.
sus around the welfare of are "couch potatoes" and using up more water and light to determine which The Guelph study is be-
chickens, which are some- that some people may mis- other resources. Chicken they prefer. Perdue is test- ing funded by the Global
times slaughtered as soon take the birds' laziness for a prices at the supermarket ing giving its conventional Animal Partnership, which
as five weeks after hatch- certifies corporate animal
ing. welfare standards. In 2016,
Animal welfare advocates it launched a campaign to
say cruelty begins with get companies to switch
birds that have been bred to "slower growing" breeds.
to have breasts so big they Since then, it has acknowl-
can barely walk. They say edged that chicken wel-
today's chickens are ge- fare is more complicated
netic monstrosities crippled than just growth rate.
by pain and that the indus- It's now pushing for a "bet-
try needs to switch breeds. ter" chicken, and hopes the
Many in the industry say study will help define what
there's no problem and that entails.
that chickens may not Only a small percentage
move around a lot be- of chickens in the U.S. are
cause they're sedentary. GAP-certified, and spelling
Even if they were to agree out new requirements for
to change breeds, it's not breeds risks making certifi-
clear what the alternatives cation even rarer.
should look like. Anne Malleau, the group's
The two sides disagree executive director, notes
about the cause and fre- some of the researchers'
quency of health issues tests may seem far out. But
among broilers chickens. she said providing "enrich-
Tyson and Sanderson Farms, ments" — such as places
for example, acknowledge where chickens can rest or
that chicken breasts have In this Friday, Oct. 12, 2018 photo, researcher Stephanie Torrey stands over chickens under obser- perch — was also seen as a
vation at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.
ballooned over the years, Associated Press fringe idea before becom-
but they say they're not ing more accepted.q