Ethical ornamentation and cruelty-free feathers.

I sell cruelty-free feathers from roosters that I kill.  Now, I'm aware that the animal rights folks who originally coined the term would squawk at my labeling feathers “cruelty-free” when they are harvested off the carcass of a bird that was intentionally killed.  Obviously, I disagree, and so I’ve got a case to make to these people and the people who buy feathers for making cruelty-free jewelry, crafts, etc. 

I think that if you aren’t vegan, you’ve got no reason to buy feathers from birds that are still living.**  My judgment is that it is hypocritical to eat eggs from hens raised in battery cages in buildings housing 20,000 birds and then call MY feathers cruel.  My birds, all 43 of them right now, are raised on grass and bugs and sun.  I hear the protests of “I only buy free-range eggs!” but the male chicks are totally killed.  They just aren’t utilized.  They aren’t necessarily even euthanized.  I’m not here to share horror stories; if the way animals are treated matters to you then I’m sure you have heard them.

I’m not dogging on folks who pick up feathers off the ground.  I do it, too.  They’re all over my house.  It is just that I am interested in preserving heritage breeds of poultry and raising my own food and that is a really different scenario than keeping a few pet birds in the yard.  I have a judgment that a person would have to be pretty wealthy to keep as many males as they have females.  There is nothing wrong with having a hobby farm (mine doesn’t make any money either) but I really bristle at the notion that it is unethical to do what people who raise animals have always done.  Eat the males and keep the females.  In my direct experience it is not realistic to keep more than a couple roosters, even if it weren’t expensive.  My neighbors, bless their hearts, are dealing with this right now.  Their Buff Orpington hatched out a beautiful clutch of chicks and they have grown into 4 regal cocks (real chicken enthusiasts sneer at the word “rooster”) and 3 lovely hens.  They’ve got a lot of space, they’ve built extra shelters and houses to reduce territory squabbles, and it is still not working.  They’re looking for homes for them.  I wish them luck.

I am angry that this super important conversation about the ethical treatment of animals has been completely hijacked by this weird 1st world concept that “cruelty-free” must mean that the animals are essentially pets.  I resent the implication that farmers are bad and people who keep all of their animals (males and females alike) for their entire natural lifespan (judgment: rich people) are good.  I keep animals because I love them and I think they are good for the land and because they convert resources that I am not able to utilize into resources that I can.  We have a partnership; I take care of them and they take care of me.