Karen Davis: This Conversation Will Change How You See Chickens

Species Unite

“Chickens have full color spectrum vision. That means they see the entire spectrum of colors from the infrared to the ultraviolet. The reason that roosters crow when for humans it is still dark outside is because they see the sunrise before we do, because they see infrared light. So, they're up and about in what for them is daylight, when for us it is dark out.” – Karen Davis

Karen Davis is the president and founder of United Poultry Concerns. They’re an organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domesticated birds. They also have a sanctuary for chickens in Virginia.

Karen and I did this interview as a live episode in June. I wanted to talk to Karen about chickens for a couple of reasons, one because they’re the most abused land animal on the planet; but also because I wanted to know more about them.

Before this conversation I knew very little about chickens. And Karen knows everything there is to know them. She has been advocating for them, studying them, saving them, and writing about them for decades. Her most recent book is called For the Birds: From Exploitation to Liberation.

Every year, a staggering 70 billion chickens are raised and slaughtered for meat, and around 300 million more are kept for egg production. And every single one of them is an intelligent, sentient individual.