Avian influenza—or “bird flu”— is ripping through the U.S., and more than 22 million chickens and turkeys have been killed in cruel ways since February 2022 in a futile attempt to stop the virus from spreading like wildfire across the country.
Outbreaks have been reported on commercial and “backyard” farms in at least 24 states, and once an animal is determined to have the bird flu, the entire flock is killed.
In the U.S., farms may slaughter farmed animals en masse for “disease control” in horrific ways: Some companies kill birds with a water-based foam, slowly suffocating them to death (sometimes for up to 14 minutes). Others kill animals by shutting off all ventilation in the sheds in a process known as “ventilation shutdown” (VSD), which sometimes incorporates heat, humidity, and carbon dioxide (known as “VSD Plus”)—suffocating them and baking them alive. Egg farms typically gas the birds to death.
As long as the poultry and egg industries continue to raise sensitive birds for slaughter—typically cramming tens of thousands of chickens into filthy, windowless sheds, which are breeding grounds for disease outbreaks—this will keep happening. The best form of disease control on farms and at other facilities—including ones that falsely label their products as “free-range” or “organic”—is for them to stop raising and killing animals for food.
Whether it’s #COVID19, Avian Flu, or Swine Flu, eating animals causes deadly diseases.#FlashbackFriday to when #Pretenders legend @ChrissieHynde and a PETA “chicken” warned folks to stay away from hazardous meat! pic.twitter.com/4ju3eDk2tU
— PETA (@peta) March 27, 2020
You can help spare animals, decrease the risk of future pandemics, protect the environment, and more by going vegan.
Take Action for Our Fellow Animals Killed in Cruel Ways for ‘Disease Control’
Our fellow animals don’t want to be killed under any circumstance, but the least farms can do is not use extremely cruel and painful methods to slaughter them for “disease control.” The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) still lists VSD and VSD Plus as “permitted in constrained circumstances,” even though they can cause other animals to suffer in agony for hours. Tell the AVMA that these methods of killing are never acceptable, and urge it to not allow them to be used in the future:
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