May 4th is actually International Respect for Chickens Day.  I am not kidding.  This is something organized by a group calling itself United Poultry Concerns.  This is a tax-exempt non-profit organization that operates a Chicken Sanctuary.  Seriously.



Here are the protesters at a rally in Tacoma Park, Maryland.  The massive throng clusters around their banner on International Respect for Chickens Day in 2005.  Oddly enough, crowd control was not a problem at this particular protest. 

This group really exists.  Their 'mission' is to educate the public on how poultry are treated.  As you might guess, their web site is filled with pictured of 'mistreated' chickens, and not surprisingly they endorse a 'cruelty-free' vegan diet.  They sell books comparing the 'plight' of chickens to the holocaust.  Yes, you read that right.  Killing chickens to feed people is morally equivalent to the slaughtering of millions of humans to these folks.

There is also some entertaining information on human companionship.  That would be chicken-human companionship.  Can't say I ever tried to pet a chicken.  If you can stomach some of the images of people gazing lovingly into the eyes of a bird, you can visit their website at upc-online.org.  Just type it in; I won't give them a link from here.

This year they are going to have a protest on the Washington Mall.  Of all the things wrong in the world to protest, I can't say that would be too high on anyone's list.  I am guessing they won't be stopping at KFC on the way for a quick snack.

Think about this though.  Egg farmers need to have healthy animals to keep production high.  Would it make sense to abuse their chickens and hurt production?  Meat on any animal is easily damaged, which would affect the appearance and texture.  Does it make sense that chicken farmers would routinely abuse and damage their product?  I am sure there are many anecdotes of individuals doing stupid things.  Those are probably the same kinds of people who beat their kids too.  But we can't protest that.  That would just be silly.

So, in celebration of International Respect for Chickens Day, I am including a few links to my favorite chicken recipes.  So eat up and celebrate in style.  Think of the chickens .... and then eat them.

Several Barbecue Chicken Recipes

Better Baked Chicken Recipes

Awesome Roast Chicken