by Norman Julian

Original article posting: http://www.dominionpost.com/a/news/2002/01/24/bb/

"Most cruelty shown by men comes from thoughtlessness or inherited habit." -- Albert Schweitzer

Hens confined to little cubicles before they or their eggs become your breakfast don't know they are the center of controversy.

They are, though, if you read and credit The Los Angeles Times or The Wall Street Journal or position papers put out by medical researchers and the hunting lobby.

A year or so ago, I got on the e-mailing list of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

That was probably so because now and then I have written about animal welfare, or the lack of it.

When PETA is mentioned herein, I get mail. Some make a blanket statement that animal rights groups stink. Others praise them.

For many years I have been keeping a fattening file on animal welfare issues, and it, too, contains pros and cons.

When I do write something, I try to confine it to issues I know something about. I acknowledge its publications are professional and its messages clearly made.

And that is where hens come in.

I raised them for 10 years at my place and when I was growing up my dad raised them, and before that his father (my grandpa) did, too.

I know something about hens.

For example, they are curious animals who like to run and jump and scratch and play.

People who watch them closely in free range conditions will note they have individual personalities. Their intelligence may not enable them to do rocket science, but they are smarter than Chicken McNugget consumers would ever imagine.

Twice I have toured chicken factories. Frankly, my sensibilities were assaulted.

I hate to see hens confined to cubicles too small to turn around in or flap their wings in. I think that is unusually and unnecessarily cruel.

So when the L.A. Times reported that McDonald's Corp. would lobby for "more comfortable conditions" for the millions of hens that produce the 2 billion eggs a year the corporation uses, I felt good about that.

In short, it said by the start of this year it would be buying only from ranches that provide 72 square inches of space per laying hen, an increase of about half from the industry standard.

Oops, controversy there.

The California state Farm Bureau said that would add from 15-20 cents per dozen to the cost of producing eggs.

Starving the hens to restore a hen's ability to lay eggs is also a no-no.

PETA credits some of its pressure with McDonald's new enlightenment.

The last time PETA was mentioned herein, I received a letter that alleged PETA is linked to the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), which a letter to me called "a major terrorist group."

Maybe since 9/11, the letter writer might use something milder because of the connotations of the phrase now.

If there is warranted suspicion, let a probe go forward.

And, too, maybe both human and animal welfare would be served if people read PETA's materials and materials that are anti-PETA.

Then make up your own mind.

Meantime, Happy New Year to all creatures.

NORMAN JULIAN is a roving columnist for The Dominion Post. His columns appear Sunday, Monday and Thursday.