Vegetarian Starter Kit // Meet Your Meat

Mili: A Chicken's Story

by Anuradha Sawhney
The Mumbai-Pune expressway has been witness to many vehicular accidents, but one accident I saw there changed my life forever.

As I was driving down the road, I glanced out my window and saw an overturned truck. I would have dismissed this all-too-common sight if it were not for the truck’s cargo. The truck, which was undoubtedly bound for an abattoir, had been carrying chickens. The door had flung wide open, and hens were strewn all over the road. Those who were crushed under the weight of their friends had met an early death; the searing heat of summer killed many who had survived the initial impact. A couple of chickens were flapping their wings uselessly, trying to get away from the gruesome scene. Eerily, instead of a lot of clucking, the air was filled with a deafening silence.

I looked for a driver, but there was no one there. He had abandoned them – after all, chickens are looked upon as inanimate objects by most people, so it is no wonder that a truckload of dead and dying chickens were of no concern to him. I went close to the truck and felt a hen come and peck me. I looked at her. At some point in her life, she must have been snowy white. Now she was grimy and covered in bird droppings and fresh blood. As I bent down to pick her up, I was shocked to find that she was shivering. I held her close to me and placed her in the car.

Agitated by the callousness of the driver, I left to report the incident to the nearest police station. However, by the time we returned to the accident site, the truck was gone, leaving behind a sad trail of chicken feathers.

As I was taking Mili (as I called her) home, I could not help but wonder about the lives of hens like her. Hens who lead their lives trapped in a tiny coop with no place to move – crowded together so tightly that they went mad and pecked each other … just to end up on someone’s plate. Lost in my thoughts, I did not realise that Mili had snuggled up next to me for warmth and had stopped shaking. I gave her some water, and she clicked her beak in appreciation.

Mili lived happily at a friend’s farmhouse, enjoying the sun, the feel of the earth, and plenty of fresh food and water. It was a sight to see her clucking away, scratching the ground for overlooked grains. After meeting Mili, I have never been able to look at a chicken leg without remembering her and have become a vegetarian and help to save animals’ lives every day.

Millions of chickens are slaughtered in India every year, and if the laws against inhumane transportation were properly enforced, most chicken farms would likely go out of business. This is evident from the fact that when the police in Tamil Nadu began enforcing the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act in regard to animal transport, there was an outcry from poultry farmers. Of all the animals used for food, chickens endure the worst abuse. Virtually every minute of the lives of chickens killed for their flesh or used for their eggs is torture. We can all do our part to help Mili and the millions like her by going vegetarian.