Cockfighting Cruelty Prompts Animal-Friendly Name Change for Arnside Hotel
Cockfighting Cruelty Prompts Animal-Friendly Name Change for Arnside Hotel
Arnside, Lancashire – Following reports that 27 cockerels have been rescued from an illegal cockfighting ring in Lancashire, PETA is calling on Arnside’s Ye Olde Fighting Cocks hotel and pub – as seen on Channel 4 show Four in a Bed – to re-brand as Ye Olde Clever Cocks in a stand against the violent bloodsport, and all cruelty towards animals.
The animal protection group has sent an urgent letter (available here) to the owners, Jeanette Hamer and Tony Keates, outlining why the suggested change to the establishment’s name, as well as a menu revamp, could help often abused and misunderstood chickens.
“Ye Olde Clever Cocks could relaunch with a new food offering and promotional campaign that leaves chickens off the menu and places them in the hearts of the local community,” writes PETA’s Vice President of Corporate Projects, Dawn Carr. “And we’d love to help you cock-a-doodle-do it! “
Chickens can recognise the faces of more than 100 other chickens; communicate with at least 24 unique vocalisations; establish complex social hierarchies; and roost together companionably. Yet chickens killed for their flesh are crammed into filthy sheds, where they’re forced to live in their own waste – and the runoff from these operations pollutes the environment and poisons local wildlife. At abattoirs, chickens’ throats are often cut while they’re still conscious, and many are scalded to death in de-feathering tanks.
In addition, outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza are sweeping the country, and over 1.8 million birds have been culled in the UK over recent months. PETA points out that the majority of diseases that have caused epidemics or pandemics in recent years originated in animals before being transmitted to humans, including AIDS, avian flu, swine flu, SARS, MERS, Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any way” – points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow PETA on Facebook, X, TikTok, or Instagram.
Contact:
Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327; [email protected]
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