PETA Should be Proud

I didn't realize that chickens aren't covered under federal laws requiring humane treatment of livestock.

I don't understand how that oversight could be permitted to stand, given the prevalence of commercial poultry farming. I am not alone.

The Humane Society -- not PETA -- filed a federal lawsuit today against the U.S. Agriculture Department, in an attempt to include poultry under the 1958 law that protects cattle and pigs. They say the current methods are cruel and inhumane, and actually increase the possibility of consumer illness through cross-contamination.

In the era of Bird Flu, you would think this would be a valid concern.

Specific plants previously investigated by PETA were named in the suit, including the infamous one in West Virginia.

The National Chicken Council, comprised of poultry farmers and slaughterhouses, claims the lawsuit is "little more than a publicity stunt."

Nice to know they are interested in supporting public health . . . and someone should explain to them that the Humane Society isn't PETA and doesn't need shock value publicity to do their job.

Quote from Christopher Doering's Reuters story.