Chickens in crates on their way to slaughter.
Photo by Anita Krajnic, taken at a Toronto Chicken Save vigil. Courtesy of Free from Harm.

Protest NPR Show Denigrating Chickens and Encouraging Sarcastic Violence Toward Them

"Wait Wait . . . Don't Tell Me"

On Saturday, January 16, the NPR quiz show “Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me” included a segment called “Bluff the Listener” in which “Our panelists read three stories about chickens in the news, only one of which is true.”

The third story is particularly concerning. It jokes about slapping chickens (presumably dead) to prepare them to be eaten: “how hard do I have to slap a chicken to cook it?” And “How many light slaps would it take?”

Chickens are stereotyped in another story as “smelly,” although any “smelliness” they may have is the result of the filth their keepers force them to live in.

The segment ends with an ugly “Chicken Fried” song soundbite.

Given the torture inflicted on chickens from the hatchery to the slaughterhouse, including dragging them, face down and fully conscious, through paralytic electric shock water to fit their living bodies to the machinery and facilitate removal of their feathers after they are dead, smirking “advice” about slapping their corpses is inappropriate entertainment. It involves and encourages cruelty and ignorance toward chickens, and we are asking our supporters to express their opposition and disgust to NPR and the show’s producers.

Please express your concerns by contacting:

— Something I Heard or Read

— Ask the Public Editor About Ethics

— Bluff the Listener Facebook

Thank you for sticking up for chickens
& for ethical media treatment of all animals.

United Poultry Concerns