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