Writer's Block: Bird by Bird
Jan. 5th, 2009 02:19 pm[Error: unknown template qotd]
It's peculiar that I read this while at the same time I'm listening to a program about animal genetics and psychology over the radio. They're talking about chickens so overselected for egg-laying that their other organs are becoming lame when they reach adulthood. There is a part of me that wonders if there are chick mills for the tropical birds people in this country keep for pets (like puppy mills for dogs, for example), but I don't really care to know for sure because I bet there are. Breeders select offspring for who-knows-what physical trait and after a couple generations you have a creature that can't survive without human help. Or if they do escape and survive, they pollute the natural environment as invasive species. In this instance, what is "cruelty" and what is "kindness"?
It's peculiar that I read this while at the same time I'm listening to a program about animal genetics and psychology over the radio. They're talking about chickens so overselected for egg-laying that their other organs are becoming lame when they reach adulthood. There is a part of me that wonders if there are chick mills for the tropical birds people in this country keep for pets (like puppy mills for dogs, for example), but I don't really care to know for sure because I bet there are. Breeders select offspring for who-knows-what physical trait and after a couple generations you have a creature that can't survive without human help. Or if they do escape and survive, they pollute the natural environment as invasive species. In this instance, what is "cruelty" and what is "kindness"?