Spitting Feathers
It's 4.41 a.m. and I am listening to the birds singing in the
nearby park. Few people hearing the Dawn Chorus could guess at
how highly organised and politically motivated birds have become
over the past few years. . .
It all started with a campaign by owls to secure extended rights
for night workers, including enhanced rates of pay, regular meal
breaks and assurances that they would not be penalized for
refusing to work overtime. Some employers tried to get owls in
trouble in certain parts of the country. They did this by
contacting their local branches of the Health and Safety
Department and complaining about the owls' unsavoury habit of
regurgitating their food where it could be likely to cause
contamination. But after a long court battle the owls won on a
technicality.
Union activity has become increasingly important for birds. A
landmark ruling has seen a Bill of Rights for chickens and
turkeys become law in England and Wales. This will ensure
enforcement of
1) The right to be anaesthetised (or preferably deceased) when
plucked and 2) The right to be cooked at the correct temperature
as well as the more controversial 3) Right not to be covered in
grease and sold in truckers' caf