449
of suffering on earth. For a fellow Being—the most numerous of all avians—to have
suffered so suggests that an allegedly sapient hominin should, by now, have gleaned
something about domesticus that would have tamed our cruelty, heightened a
modicum, at least, of discerning restraint, if not outright love and admiration.
George Orwell, in his Preface to the Ukrainian edition of Animal Farm (written in
March 1947 and promulgated by the Ukrainian Displaced Persons Organisation
based in Munich), wrote, “I proceeded to analyse Marx’s theory from the animals’
point of view. To them it was clear that the concept of a class struggle between
humans was pure illusion, since whenever it was necessary to exploit animals, all
humans united against them: the true struggle is between animals and humans”.
30
Brian Fagan reminds us that the chicken’s first verifiable bones come from northeastern China, circa 5400 BCE; that Roman law (in 161 BCE) limited consumption
by locals to one chicken per meal (fears of scarcity predicated by gluttony); and that
Pope Nicholas I (858–867) was so taken by chickens that he proclaimed that a
rooster should be settled upon the summit of every church.
31
We all watched as the
copper rooster atop Notre-Dame cathedral survived the April 15, 2019, conflagration, proudly carried through the streets of Paris by those who had rescued it from
ruin.
32
In most human cultures, birds are said to signify something auspicious, spiritual, good. Until the cock crowed, Peter would not acknowledge knowing Christ,
one of the reasons roosters are found throughout Renaissance art, particularly associated with the Christ Passion, the Nativity, and the Adoration of the Shepherds.
33
But by 1847, a New York City magazine, The Knickerbocker, propounded what
would become a universally lame quip according to “Why did the chicken cross the
road?”
34
It says nothing about chickens, but much about humans.
Our bias turned malevolent against chickens involves more than the sum of what
any first glance can reveal, given the love and fidelity chickens continue to show
those who treat them as companions, not food. Yet, in the realms of intellect, character, family charters, consciousness itself, our disregard of the chicken remains
pronounced. Members of the Corvid family, parrots and pigeons, are hailed as the
geniuses of the bird world. Chickens are ignored.
35
While there has been enormous
research conducted on the brains of vertebrates in general, chicken brains, and certainly the chicken’s mind, have been underrepresented. More importantly, vertebrates
in general—roughly 3% of all known animals, by their relatively recent emergence
in evolutionary terms—are thought to be far less “successful” than 97% of
30 See Animal Farm -A Fairy Story, by George Orwell, 50
th Anniversary Edition, pictures by Ralph
Steadman, Harcourt Brace & Company, New York, 1995, p. 179.
31 Brian Fagan, The Intimate Bond – How Animals Shaped Human History, Bloomsbury Press,
New York, 2015, pp. 262–264.
32 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-notredame-exhibition/fire-damaged-rooster-fro
m-notre-dames-spire-goes-on-display-idUSKBN1W51ID.
33 See Nature and Its Symbols, by Lucia Impelluso, Translated by Stephen Sartarelli, The J. Paul
Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2003, p. 313.
34 The Knickerbocker, or The New York Monthly, March 1847, p. 283.
35 See for example, “Why Ravens and Crows Are Earth’s Smartest Birds,” by Amelia Stymacks,
National Geographic, March 15, 2018.
48.3 Breeding Contempt
of suffering on earth. For a fellow Being—the most numerous of all avians—to have
suffered so suggests that an allegedly sapient hominin should, by now, have gleaned
something about domesticus that would have tamed our cruelty, heightened a
modicum, at least, of discerning restraint, if not outright love and admiration.
George Orwell, in his Preface to the Ukrainian edition of Animal Farm (written in
March 1947 and promulgated by the Ukrainian Displaced Persons Organisation
based in Munich), wrote, “I proceeded to analyse Marx’s theory from the animals’
point of view. To them it was clear that the concept of a class struggle between
humans was pure illusion, since whenever it was necessary to exploit animals, all
humans united against them: the true struggle is between animals and humans”.
30
Brian Fagan reminds us that the chicken’s first verifiable bones come from northeastern China, circa 5400 BCE; that Roman law (in 161 BCE) limited consumption
by locals to one chicken per meal (fears of scarcity predicated by gluttony); and that
Pope Nicholas I (858–867) was so taken by chickens that he proclaimed that a
rooster should be settled upon the summit of every church.
31
We all watched as the
copper rooster atop Notre-Dame cathedral survived the April 15, 2019, conflagration, proudly carried through the streets of Paris by those who had rescued it from
ruin.
32
In most human cultures, birds are said to signify something auspicious, spiritual, good. Until the cock crowed, Peter would not acknowledge knowing Christ,
one of the reasons roosters are found throughout Renaissance art, particularly associated with the Christ Passion, the Nativity, and the Adoration of the Shepherds.
33
But by 1847, a New York City magazine, The Knickerbocker, propounded what
would become a universally lame quip according to “Why did the chicken cross the
road?”
34
It says nothing about chickens, but much about humans.
Our bias turned malevolent against chickens involves more than the sum of what
any first glance can reveal, given the love and fidelity chickens continue to show
those who treat them as companions, not food. Yet, in the realms of intellect, character, family charters, consciousness itself, our disregard of the chicken remains
pronounced. Members of the Corvid family, parrots and pigeons, are hailed as the
geniuses of the bird world. Chickens are ignored.
35
While there has been enormous
research conducted on the brains of vertebrates in general, chicken brains, and certainly the chicken’s mind, have been underrepresented. More importantly, vertebrates
in general—roughly 3% of all known animals, by their relatively recent emergence
in evolutionary terms—are thought to be far less “successful” than 97% of
30 See Animal Farm -A Fairy Story, by George Orwell, 50
th Anniversary Edition, pictures by Ralph
Steadman, Harcourt Brace & Company, New York, 1995, p. 179.
31 Brian Fagan, The Intimate Bond – How Animals Shaped Human History, Bloomsbury Press,
New York, 2015, pp. 262–264.
32 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-notredame-exhibition/fire-damaged-rooster-fro
m-notre-dames-spire-goes-on-display-idUSKBN1W51ID.
33 See Nature and Its Symbols, by Lucia Impelluso, Translated by Stephen Sartarelli, The J. Paul
Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2003, p. 313.
34 The Knickerbocker, or The New York Monthly, March 1847, p. 283.
35 See for example, “Why Ravens and Crows Are Earth’s Smartest Birds,” by Amelia Stymacks,
National Geographic, March 15, 2018.
48.3 Breeding Contempt