A local bar in the Niagara region has been hosting a chicken chucking event for 20 years and will go ahead this year despite demands from an animal rights group to shut it down.
The Kilt & Clover, which bills itself as having “warm beer and lousy food” holds the annual event to raise money for local community groups. Over the years, the fundraiser known as International Chicken Chucking has raised tens of thousands of dollars for causes such as the Humane Society, Make a Wish Foundation, Hospice Niagara and Community Care Niagara.
Animal rights group War for Animals is planning to send protesters to oppose the event on Feb 16. Teams of four players pay a fee to chuck double-bagged frozen chickens on a local pond.
War for Animals say animals are not objects for entertainment or food items.
They are individuals with interests deserving of basic fundamental justice…The objectification of and disrespectful use of the dead bodies of chickens is totally unacceptable. Chickens do not exist to be exploited by humans, especially not to toss around like bean bags…these were fully sentient individuals with interests like you or I. The objectification, exploitation and enslavement of other animals is 100% unacceptable.
The group says on its Facebook page that despite calls for the event to end, the organizers are planning to continue.
Rubber or stuffed chickens are not an acceptable alternative as they still objectify the bodies of victims of speciesism**
The bar posted a message to animal rights activists on its page saying the chickens are vacuum sealed and used as a curling tool for the event.
We do not kill the chickens, the chicken are food grade for consumption. Since we do not want to waste perfectly good food, we have found a place to donate them after we use them.”
After the event, the chickens go to the Greg Frewin theatre in Niagara Falls in Ontario, a place that has rescue tigers who need to be fed. Each tiger eats between 10 and 25 pounds of meat a day.
They have always been very happy to receive our donation and the tigers don’t seem to mind that we use their food before they eat.”
