Saturday, May 29, 2021
Free & Online
We are excited to announce the 2nd Annual Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar, sponsored by United Poultry Concerns and Triangle Chicken Advocates. Our first Chicken Webinar in 2020 was so successful and appreciated that we decided to make it an annual event.
In this year’s webinar, we will uncover the rich, complex lives of chickens, and the pervasive, harmful lies of the chicken industry. Our panel of experts will reveal what you need to know about chickens and how to protect them.
Join us for this unique experience focused on the charming, cheerful, curious, social, busy, delightful chicken!
CHICKEN WEBINAR SCHEDULE
All times are Eastern Daylight Time!
1:00 – 1:10 pm – Intro
1:10 – 1:55 pm – Karen Davis, PhD, United Poultry Concerns
“How Can We Tell If a Chicken is Suffering or Happy? What Are the Signs?”
5 min break
2:00 – 2:45 pm – Dr. Tushar Mehta, Plant Based Data
“The Ecological, Health, and Zoonotic Risks of Poultry and Egg Consumption”
5 min break
2:50 – 3:35 pm – Rachel McCrystal, Woodstock Sanctuary
“Speaking of Chickens”
5 min break
3:40 – 4:25 pm – Panel: Chickens on the Couch, Dismantling Who Is a Companion Animal
Rebecca Moore, Institute for Animal Happiness & Quincy Markowitz, Farm Bird Sanctuary
5 min break
4:30 – 5:00 pm – Q & A
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS FREE EVENT
SPEAKERS
Presentation Title:
How Can We Tell If a Chicken is Suffering or Happy? What Are the Signs?
Synopsis: “Suffering” is often associated exclusively with pain, but while pain involves suffering, not all suffering involves pain. Pain refers to a sensation of hurt, whereas “suffering” refers to the bearing of hurt whether painful or not. In my talk I discuss the ways in which chickens can suffer physically and psychologically and the difference between acute suffering and chronic suffering. I will discuss by contrast the ways in which a chicken expresses perceptible happiness and wellbeing, and why knowing the difference matters.
Karen Davis, PhD is the President and Founder of United Poultry Concerns, a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl including a sanctuary for chickens in Virginia. Inducted into the National Animal Rights Hall of Fame for Outstanding Contributions to Animal Liberation, Karen is the author of numerous books, essays, articles and campaigns and the founding editor of UPC’s quarterly magazine Poultry Press. Karen’s books include A Home for Henny (a children’s book published by UPC); Instead of Chicken, Instead of Turkey: A Poultryless ‘Poultry’ Potpourri (a cookbook published by the Book Publishing Co.); Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs: An Inside Look at the Modern Poultry Industry (Book Publishing Co.); More Than a Meal: The Turkey in History, Myth, Ritual, and Reality (Lantern Books); and The Holocaust and the Henmaid’s Tale: A Case for Comparing Atrocities (Lantern Books). The 2009 Revised Edition of Karen’s landmark book Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs (first published in 1996) is described by the American Library Association’s Choice magazine as “Riveting . . . brilliant . . . noteworthy for its breadth and depth.” Karen’s latest book, published by Lantern Books in 2019, is For the Birds: From Exploitation to Liberation – Essays on Chickens, Turkeys, and Other Domesticated Fowl.
Presentation Title:
The Ecological, Health, and Zoonotic Risks of Poultry and Egg Consumption
Dr. Tushar Mehta studied at McMaster University and then completed medical school and residency at the University of Toronto. Currently, he practices Emergency Medicine but has spent years practicing Family Medicine and Addictions Medicine. Dr. Mehta also participates in international health projects, having formerly volunteered on an annual basis in rural India, and now works with an NGO in Haiti. Along with a small team, Dr. Mehta co-founded Plant Based Data, an online database that collects and organizes the most important academic and institutional literature regarding the impact of a plant-based diet on health, the environment, and food security, including the role of animal agriculture in creating zoonotic pandemics.
Presentation Title:
Speaking of Chickens
Synopsis: A discussion of how we speak about chickens as individuals especially in the context of social media and humane education. How can we focus on advocacy and campaigns on their behalf without dismissing their individuality? Have popular “cage-free” and other reform campaigns actually caused harm for chickens? How can we center them in speaking for them as rescuers and sanctuaries?
Rachel McCrystal is the Executive Director at Woodstock Farm Sanctuary. She has been at the Sanctuary for seven years. Rachel has volunteered for and worked at various animal rights, conservation, and sheltering organizations over the last 15 years with a focus on development, marketing, campaigns, and strategic planning. She has been widely published with stories on animal rights and liberation.
Panel: Chickens on the Couch, Dismantling Who Is a Companion Animal
Rebecca Moore was a performer and musician for many decades in NYC. She is the founder of the Institute for Animal Happiness, a nonprofit chicken rescue in the Hudson Valley, NYS. After working over 10 years at large farm animal sanctuaries, Rebecca found herself repeatedly bringing home chickens who required more special, individualized care, and realized there was a critical need for greater advocacy and education on chickens’ behalf. Utilizing what minimal resources she had, empowered by the Microsanctuary Movement, Rebecca turned a small rented backyard into a non-stop busy advocacy hub fiercely dedicated to a mission of care, activism, and change. The Institute continues to grow and brings together a mix of devotions that fit all into one unique organizational framework: animal rights, intersectional social justice solidarity (in support of collective liberation), and a dedication to art as a revolutionary force and powerful conduit for changing hearts and minds. The Institute produces the local Hudson Valley Vegfest as their annual benefit, has published a Hudson Valley Vegan Guide, and also presents the annual Kingston Animalia, a “vegan arts uprising” festival in Kingston, NY.
Panel: Chickens on the Couch, Dismantling Who Is a Companion Animal
Quincy Markowitz is the co-founder of Farm Bird Sanctuary, a bird-only sanctuary with a focus on disabled birds located in southern Wisconsin. In addition to providing sanctuary for 70+ birds, Quincy engages in community action including suing a small town that engages in a “chicken toss” event every year. Quincy has been working with chickens for over ten years and has been vegan for six years.
