CAMPAIGN

Chicks Are Cool, Keep Them Out of School!

Spread the Word
Rare is the day that we do not receive a call from a distressed parent wishing to surrender a once cute and fluffy chick who has morphed into a testosterone charged rooster.

Probe a little more and the words, “school / kinder chicken hatching project” are uttered. And our hearts sink just that little bit more, for not only the hapless roosters but so too the poor life lessons taught to young and impressionable minds.

Schools should be hubs of creative thinking, places where compassion for all life is fostered, yet when it comes to chicken hatching programs, logic and kindness seems to go out of the window.

But you can help to change this!

Please write a letter today to the School Animal Ethics committee in your state asking them to end chicken hatching programs on ethical and educational grounds.

Keep it brief and polite, to ensure it will carry more weight.

Main points to include:

Unwanted animals

Roughly 50% of the chicks will be male. At the project’s end, chicks are either adopted to children or returned to the company. Things rarely end well for roosters as most urban councils ban the keeping of them. With pounds and shelters already overflowing with a growing number of unwanted cats and dogs, we should not be adding more species into the mix.

Animal welfare

Noisy and artificial classroom environments are not suitable for young, vulnerable chicks. They do not replicate the cycle of life they are purported to. Mother hens, like all good mothers, are very protective of their young; they will even ‘talk’ to their unhatched chicks. The chicks will learn her sound/voice and respond. Once hatched, they will shelter for warmth in complete darkness under their mother’s wings.

Excited children can often accidently drop or mishandle chicks.

Schools rarely have a budget that includes an allocation for veterinary expense should a chick become ill. Ill chicks are often missed as teachers are not well versed in the care of these animals.

Lessons of unintended consequences

Chicken hatching programs unwittingly see animals reduced to teaching aids, not sentient beings who require a lifetime of care, knowledge, expense, and logistics. Seeing animals as accessories to activities can harden hearts to compassion for other living beings.

Given the many programs that offer interaction with animals and teach children about the cycle of life that do not involve hatching chicks in the classroom, there really is no justification for adding chicken hatching programs to any curriculum.

Within Australia, please write to:

VIC [email protected]
NSW [email protected]
SA [email protected]
WA [email protected]
QLD [email protected]
TAS [email protected]

Outside of Australia, please check the responsible government department for approving the use of animals in learning.

Thank you for speaking up for chickens!

“The more I researched, the sadder I became about the welfare and plight of these innocent creatures.”
Keryn Johnson, Managing Director, Leap Ahead Learning
Back to Campaigns