Letter: Observe International Respect for Chickens Day

To the editor: International Respect for Chickens Day is May 4, started by the nonprofit organization United Poultry Concerns.

Chickens are intelligent beings who, as many who have backyard flocks already know, recognize and interact with human caregivers. This makes them great pets.

Unfortunately, there are precious few of these lucky ones. Factory-farmed chickens lead a horrible life in cages measuring 8.5 by 11 inches, the size of a piece of writing paper, and never set so much as a foot on the Earth. There is not enough room here to describe all the ways that chickens are mistreated in our society in service to our palates and disservice to our compassion. To learn more, go to upc-online.org.

Scott Plantier, Pittsfield

• International Respect for Chickens Day