astern Oregon a former sheriff’s deputy and his wife were arrested and charged with running an illegal gaming operation and for violating the Animal Welfare Act. Allegedly, they were operating cockfighting derbies on their rural property.
The Vicious Pedigree, and Sad Evolution, of the Majestic Chicken
In 2003, a paleontologist found a fossilized bone of a Tyrannosaurus rex in Montana with what experts describe as “a still-elastic blood vessel” inside. Experts who study the evolutionary relationships among different species and populations (phylogenetics) examined the vessel and determined that “the closest living relative of T. rex is none other than the domestic chicken.”
As humans began to live in settlements alongside Gallus gallus, Gallus sonneratii and other wild fowl, they soon began domesticating them. Although the precise mechanism of domestication is unknown, experts have identified four stages in the process:
- During the first stage, as chickens and people learned to co-exist, the chicken became valued as a religious symbol, but no breeding was done. At the second stage, when cockfighting arose and spread, active breeding occurred in order to foster the most desirable traits – primarily those that improved fighting skills.
- During the third stage, at a time when agriculture and industry were becoming more specialized, people increasingly focused on selective mating, particularly in the West. At the last stage, which has happened quite recently, modern industrialized farming methods were applied to chicken breeding with dramatic results.
- In the last half century, modern, corporate agriculture has learned that by fortifying chicken feed with vitamins and antibiotics, large-scale, industrial chicken production is possible. In huge sheds, crammed together beak to comb, rather than fighting with their neighbors or seeking shelter from the elements or fleeing predators, the modern chicken can focus on one thing – eating. Whether ultimately destined to be a broiler or a layer, the great increase in calories “enjoyed” by today’s fowl allows a one-ounce chick to grow to five pounds in a month and a half.
Is Gallus domesticus Better Off Today?
Although most of us no longer force chickens into lethal armed combat for our amusement, the horrific conditions endured by the vast majority of today’s chickens, some would argue, is no better. Rather than judging our forebears for their cruelty and bloodlust, perhaps those of us who eat chicken should first think of our own callousness and voracity. Or not. We could just sit down to a tasty plate of General Tso’s. It’s so good! 😉
- Was There Really a General Tso?
- The Chicken Who Lived Without His Head for 18 Months
- The World’s Largest Item On A Menu Is Camel Stuffed with Lamb which has Been Stuffed with Chickens which has Been Stuffed with Fish or Eggs
- Velociraptors Actually Looked Very Much Like a Domestic Turkey, Feathers and All
- Eating KFC is a Major Christmas Tradition in Japan
- Authorities: Princess Sold Alcohol at Cockfights
- Chicks Being Ground Up Alive Video
- Chickens Used for Food
- Cockfight (Wikipedia)
- Cockfighting and Related Crimes
- Evolutionary History of the Chicken
- History of Aseel
- How the Chicken Conquered the World
- The London Encyclopaedia
- National Chicken Council
- A Tradition of Cockfighting
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