BOULDER, Colo.?People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says a Boulder-based company that sells feather hair extensions should stop saying its feathers come from ethically treated roosters. Fine Featherheads’ website says it gets its feathers from Whiting Farms. PETA general counsel Jeff Kerr said Thursday that Whiting Farms cages its roosters in noisy, windowless sheds and kills them for the sake of fashion.
Fine Featherheads’ founder didn’t return messages seeking comment, but Whiting Farms founder Tom Whiting said in a written statement that his roosters have spacious, individual cages so they don’t battle each other. He says his roosters live nearly a year, while chicken raised for meat typically live less than seven weeks.
Once more PETA confirms for us that they don’t have a clue outside of their fantasy world. This article also shows some lazy journalism. My suggestion - do some research before they put things in print.
Who gives a damn what PETAs Jeff Kerr thinks…If people would stop listening to them when they start their screaming and just pick up something and knock them over their head they might just shut up…it would be worth a night in the clink lol
I guess what I have to say would be better directed to PETA than here, however my $.02. There is almost no example of ethical treatment of animals except for two IMO. Pets that are cared for and humanely put down at the end, and domesticated farm animals that could not survive on their own and are (relatively) humanely killed for meat; or wild meat like deer, etc, and fish, that are dead onsite with one shot or one whack. Otherwise there is always an element of the process that is not humane.
My question for the PETAs is: who among you doesn’t wear leather, who does not drive a car and pollute, who wears only synthetic clothes so the polution which kills animals drifts downwind of the factory, who live in a house bigger than they need wasting both animal supporting space and energy, who spends more time and money on saving animals than starving children in the third world? They really have their heads up their a$$e$ IMHO. Counteract them whenever you can.
My take on this is quite a bit different than most. I see articles like this as a good thing for fly fisherman and fly tiers. Most women getting these extensions really don’t understand where the feathers come from. They blythly believe (I’m guessing), that they are plucked from the chickens without the chicken being harmed. I’ve seen plenty of articles where women have gotten these extensions only to find out how the feathers were collected and then having them removed as a result. Publicity like this isn’t going to affect the suppliers or fly tiers, but the fashion trade is another story. IMHO a few more articles like this will put an end to this fad in short order.
Brian, I think you put too much faith in the fashionable to be informed or thing other than what is “In” or “Cool.” I don’t really believe they have thought very much about the origin of the feathers beyond the hair salon. They just magically appear at the salon, why would an animal be harmed?
damn@! this might be the beginning of the end of the featherheads… I need to carry my butt down to the salon and try to sell my Whiting 100 packs before they’re only worth $15 again.
I can’t think of anything better than watching PETA fight with hairdressers and fashionistas. And Tom Whiting chose to put himself in the middle of it for $$$$$. He made his feather bed. He’ll have to lay in it. He should be comfy with all that cash.
They were complaining about how Whiting Farms treats their chickens in the article. I haven’t followed this story very closely because I’ve been busy fishing and teaching since it broke. But I was told by some of the folks I’ve been fishing with that Tom sold his entire supply of feathers this year for several times the usual rate to a single source who sold them to the fashion industry. I’ve got all the hackle I need - probably for life. So I don’t have a dog in this fight. But that’s where I got it.