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Scientists have just begun to scratch the surface when it comes to understanding bird brains. But studies have shown what backyard chicken caregivers already know: The world’s most most intensively

Chickens are smart, social birds, and backyard chicken keeping has exploded in popularity over the past decade. We support any measure that reduces or eliminates the purchase of eggs laid by hens on

Billions of chickens suffer on factory farms each year. They deserve so much more.

Only a few years ago, it may have appeared unfathomable for McDonald’s to make a commitment to use 100% cage-free eggs in its restaurants, or for poultry giant Perdue to announce game-changing reforms for chickens raised for meat. One might have never imagined entire states, including California

Several years ago, people in the Netherlands learned about the plight of what animal advocates dubbed “exploding chickens.” Known in the industry as “broiler chickens,” these birds are bred to grow so quickly that they reach slaughter weight in just six weeks. Such rapid growth leads to debilitating

BRUSSELS— The first-ever evaluation of chicken welfare among 16 fast-food brands in Poland and Romania reveals that the fast-food industry in Eastern Europe is taking its first steps towards increasing the welfare of chickens used for meat . The 2023 Pecking Order reports for Poland and Romania

OTTAWA—The largest study ever conducted on the welfare of chickens raised for meat confirms that fast-growing breeds, which make up the majority of chickens raised for commercial meat production, suffer immensely. Around the world, a staggering 60 billion broiler chickens are bred for meat each year

Twenty of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Alec Baldwin, Susan Sarandon and Joaquin Phoenix, today sent a joint letter to McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook, urging the company to institute commonsense animal welfare reforms advocated by the Humane Society of the United States. The letter, which

For decades, the welfare of most chickens raised and slaughtered for meat has been deeply concerning: These “broiler chickens” have been selectively bred for rapid weight gain and muscle mass to such an extreme that they are inherently prone to painful, debilitating leg problems and have difficulty

Today, we are launching a new campaign that calls out McDonald’s for allowing extreme animal suffering in its chicken supply chain. Our goal is to get the fast food giant to join its competitors—including Burger King, Subway, Jack in the Box and nearly a hundred others—in adopting meaningful reforms

The Biden administration has withdrawn a deplorable pending rule that would have allowed qualifying chicken slaughter plants in the United States to permanently dial up line speeds from an already inhumane and lightning-fast 140 birds per minute to 175 birds per minute. The U.S. Department of

In an important and encouraging advance for the protection of farm animals, Arizona has moved to ban cruel cages for egg-laying hens and ensure that all eggs produced and/or sold in the state are cage-free. The regulations promulgated by the Arizona Department of Agriculture guarantee that over 7

The meat industry’s common practice of breeding broiler chickens to grow faster and bigger results in immense suffering and extremely poor quality of life for the animals, according to the largest study ever conducted on the topic. The two-year study was conducted by researchers at the University of

A coalition including the Humane Society of the United States today sued the Trump administration for allowing chicken slaughterhouses to dial up the breakneck speeds at which they kill birds. The increase, announced in 2018, allows slaughterhouses that receive a waiver from the administration to

The federal government has handed out a record number of waivers this month for chicken slaughterhouses to dial up the already dangerous speeds at which they kill birds. The development not only raises animal welfare concerns, but it comes at a time when slaughterhouses have emerged as major

LONDON—The largest study ever conducted on the welfare of chickens raised for meat confirms that fast-growing breeds, which make up the majority of chickens raised for commercial meat production, suffer immensely. Around the world, a staggering 60 billion chickens are bred for meat, 1.1 billion a

BRUSSELS—Yesterday, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published its Scientific Opinions on the welfare of laying hens and ‘broiler’ chickens raised for meat production. These publications provide additional scientific underpinning to the European Commission’s existing plans to revise the EU

Opossums get a bum rap. Often seen as pests and accused of everything from knocking over garbage cans to killing chickens, these quiet marsupials are rarely a threat and easily sent on their way