The images in the
following program
are very sensitive
and may be as
disturbing to viewers
as they were to us.
However, we have to
show the truth about
cruelty to animals.
Most consumers have
no idea how cruel
the process of procuring
the feathers really is.
But if people are
buying feathers
then live plucking
will continue.
Really the only way to
stop this practice is
to refuse to buy
any products made of
feather or down.
This is the
Stop Animal Cruelty
program on
Supreme Master
Television, where
our focus this week is
on the callous,
unconscionable practice
of live feather plucking.
Although a vast array
of excellent synthetic
materials are available
that provide insulation
and softness in products
such as pillows, jackets,
sleeping bags
and comforters,
some manufacturers
persist in using
the heartlessly produced
material known as
“down,” the soft layer
of quill-less feathers
found closest to the chest
area of ducks and geese
beneath
the outer feathers.
Feathers are unique
to the avian species and
have many functions,
including aiding flight,
protecting birds’ skin
from the Sun’s ultraviolet
rays, providing warmth
when needed and giving
birds their beautiful,
regal appearance.
In past centuries,
naturally shed down and
feathers were collected
from nests after ducks
and geese had hatched
their eggs and left.
Today, however,
most down and plumage
are removed from
ducks and geese
during slaughter,
for meat and foie gras,
the livers of inhumanely
tortured and fattened
ducks or geese,
or is live plucked.
On these factory farms
they’ll pack 20,000 geese
into a one small area and
then they will live pluck
them several times a year
until they’re
four years old.
During live plucking,
the feathers of ducks and
geese are violently ripped
from their sensitive
bodies without anesthesia
or regard for
the animals’ welfare.
This vicious practice
causes extreme
physical and mental
pain and distress to
the gentle, loving birds.
Live plucking is done
purely to maximize profit
before the birds are sent
to slaughter.
A recent investigation
by the Swedish TV show
Kalla Fakta
or Cold Facts, found that
live plucking is the
primary means used to
obtain down worldwide.
Someone did an
undercover investigation
and it shows geese being
picked up by their back
and having their feathers
ripped out of their body.
These frantic geese
are trying to escape
and in turn they strain
their muscles and
sometimes they even
have broken limbs.
Veterinarians and
even goose breeders
themselves have called
this practice
extremely cruel.
What really happens
on duck- and goose-
breeding farms?
“Hungary Plucking” is
a documentary produced
by Mark M. Rissi, a
Swiss film producer and
communication officer
for Swiss Animal
Protection, an animal
welfare organization, that
exposes the abhorrent
cruelty involved
in this barbaric industry.
“Sweet dreams,
snuggled up
in the nest warmth of our
coverlets and pillows,”
this is what it says on
the advertising brochures
for down and feather
covers.
On the package of
down coverlets Heidi is
leading the happy geese
to the pasture,
the geese hear the sound
of the flute,
down feathers
fly into the air.
Down is much in demand,
world production
amounts to
thousands of tons.
Down coverlets are
trendy because the
informed customer has
been told geese down is a
healthy, natural product.
The fillings originate
from free-range geese,
hand harvested
in the so-called pushta
or Hungarian plucking
as in grandma’s times.
And this is what it looks
like on such a geese farm
in middle Hungary,
22,000 young geese
fattened for slaughter
or the production
of foie gras.
But before this final
procedure, they serve
another purpose,
the harvesting of down,
a sea of geese as far as
the eye can see.
Such a concentration
of geese contradicts
the behavioral needs
of the animals.
Geese live in small family
groups, so such a level
of mass production
causes stress.
And this is what
the pushta or Hungarian
pluck as in grandma’s
times looks like.
Their legs are tied
at the back; the wings
are squeezed together
between the legs.
Then the worker begins
to rip out the feathers
and down.
This causes terrible fright
and great pain
to the goose, because
the feathers are anchored
in the skin.
Except for
the wing feathers,
all feathers and down
are torn off.
The workers seem deaf
to the screams of the pain
of the geese.
Their work has become
just a routine.
There is no painless way
of plucking.
In the old times the down
was collected from nests,
there was no cruelty
involved in this.
Every other method
involves force and
distressing interference.
Would you call this
true cruelty?
Yes, I would call this
a case of extreme cruelty.
Young geese have
a coat of down,
but after 14 to 21 days,
this is replaced
by feathers.
A young goose gets
a coat of feathers which
has to last it a whole year.
In caring for feathers
it is important that
the feathers keep
their water resistance.
The feathers lie like roof
tiles over each other, and
are charged electrically
to repel water.
The goose pulls each
feather through its beak,
and lays it back
into the original form.
After a year, the goose
loses a few feathers
during molting,
but even then, the coat
of feather stays tight;
it is imperative that
no gap develops because
the bird would
cease to be waterproof.
When we return, we’ll
continue examining
the horrific toll that
live feather plucking
takes on geese and ducks.
Please stay tuned to
Supreme Master
Television.
This is the
Stop Animal Cruelty
program on
Supreme Master
Television.
Today we’re focusing
on the vicious practice of
plucking feathers from
live ducks and geese.
Live plucking involves
manually ripping feathers
from un-anaesthetized
ducks and geese.
Factory farm workers
position a bird between
their knees, tie their legs
behind their backs
and rapidly pull out
the under plumage with
one hand while grabbing
their tender necks
with the other.
The product of
this complete savagery
is called down,
which is used in
expensive bedding,
jackets, gloves and
many other items
with soft fillings.
In Hungary they estimate
that 25,000 tons of
feathers are exported
annually.
Of those, 50% of down,
and 40 to 45% of feathers
are live plucked, and
this is to maximize profits
and to increase the total
amount of feathers
that they can get
from each bird.
They pluck the birds
once every six weeks
from the time they’re
10 weeks old until
they’re four years old.
They can get more
feathers from each bird.
Millions of defenseless
ducks and geese are
victims of this violent
industry every year.
These geese are only
six to eight weeks old.
The first molting will not
take place
for another year, but the
factory farm can’t wait.
The geese are
hand plucked alive
three times
at this early age.
Then they’re just
slaughtered.
The employees are paid
piece rate; they must
rip out the feathers
in record time.
The animals are grabbed
by the head and dragged
over to the work place.
The commotion creates
enormous stress
in the birds.
This painful, casual
treatment puts the geese
into a state of total panic.
They’re under
great stress, their
behavior is disturbed.
The animals need
hours to recuperate.
The plucking is done
with great force;
wounded skin is treated
with disinfectant powder.
Sometimes
a leg or a wing gets
broken because of
unprofessional treatment.
The geese struggle with
all their might, these
defensive movements
cause muscles to tear.
The animals have
problems in keeping
their balance, the
staggering movements
clearly show that
these geese are suffering
from torn muscles.
These mistreated birds
will be in pain because of
these pluckings
for many days.
Tearing plumage out
in this brutal fashion
can cause bleeding,
serious injuries,
large flesh wounds and
stress-induced paralysis.
One study showed that
during plucking
the blood glucose level of
birds doubled, a sign of
severe stress and trauma.
In a Swedish
television show called
“Cold Facts”
they went undercover
at goose farms and
they recorded workers
ripping feathers by
the fistful off of animals.
One of the workers was
filmed using a thread and
a needle to sew the skin
of the geese back
together after the skin
has been ripped apart
from plucking.
After a life of repeatedly
having their feathers
plucked in this utterly
ruthless way,
the animals are murdered
for their meat.
However, in some places,
they are force-fed
for another year in
preparation for foie gras
or fatty liver production.
That is one of the most
abusive industries.
Foie gras is basically
the diseased liver of an
overfed duck or a goose.
And the way that
the product is created
is so cruel.
They force-feed
the animals by shoving
a tube down their throats
every day and putting in
as much food as possible
to create an over-sized,
really fatty liver.
Force feeding was done
three times a day
for 28 days.
The worker would
restrain the bird
with his legs and then
force the duck’s neck
upward and then
force the beak open and
then shove the metal pipe
into the duck’s throat
and then pump food
into his stomach.
About 8,000 tons
of foie gras are produced
worldwide each year
and several
foie gras producers
in the United States
and thousands more
in countries
like France, Hungary
and Israel slaughter
about 13-million ducks
and one-million geese
each year.
Foie gras is considered
a delicacy by some
people but really all it is,
is a delicacy of despair.
What can we do to halt
live feather plucking, the
production of foie gras,
and the annual
slaughtering of millions
of ducks and geese?
The best thing that
consumers can do is
to realize if you’re
buying feathers
you’re supporting
cruelty to animals.
So to refuse to buy
any feathers or down
is the only way to stop
this cruel practice.
Substitutes to down
abound in the marketplace
with many products
using polyester fibers
to provide great comfort
and warmth.
If anyone wants to help
animals, the best that
they can do so is to
stop eating or wearing
anything made of
animal products.
As long as people are
paying money for this,
there will be somebody
who will treat an animal
in an awful way
in order to make a dollar.
With so many alternatives
for your diet,
for your clothing,
there’s no excuse
to use animal products.
Be Veg, Go Green
2 Save the Planet!
We highly commend
Stephanie Corrigan of
the People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals,
Mark Rissi of Swiss
Animal Protection and
the many other caring
individuals like them
around the globe for their
steadfast commitment
to ceasing animal cruelty.
Through their efforts,
a world of only love
soon will be ours.
For more details
on these organizations,
please visit
the following websites:
People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals
www.PETA.org
Swiss Animal
Protection
www.Animal-Protection.net
Thank you for joining us
for this edition of the
Stop Animal Cruelty series
on Supreme Master
Television.
Next up is
Enlightening Entertainment,
after Noteworthy News.
May lives of peace and
harmony soon be known
by all beings
on our Earth.