This post is dedicated to my Shanghai tai tai friends who questioned my desire to visit such a place...
My Mandarin tutor, Julia, took me to a chicken slaughterhouse today. I love blood and gore (horror movies), so I thought, why not?
Local Chinese folk prefer to buy their chickens from these places because the buyers can see the live chickens and know what they are getting. In China, lots of chickens are cage-raised and they have short legs and are not as muscular as the free-range chickens, and therefore not as good. The chickens in these photos are free-range chickens and they are more expensive (50-60 kuai each - US$7-8 each).
Warning: if the sight of blood makes you queasy or you are an animal rights activist, you may be offended by some of these photos...
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| Pick a chicken, any chicken. |
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| They also do pigeons, but they aren't as popular as the chickens. |
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| This sign says "Place to kill chickens." |
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| The chickens are thrown live into the metal cylinder on the right. It is filled with boiling water and it de-feathers the chickens. Next the chicken's neck is cut and it is bled-out. It's quite a mess! Look closely: there is blood and feathers everywhere, even on the floor of the area I was standing through the open window. |
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| Why bother cleaning up between killings? |
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| These are the chicken killers waiting around for their next customer. Smoking butts and playing cards. Don't they look like the butchers at home in the U.S.? The live chicken cage is to the left in the photo - so the chickens get to breathe second-hand smoke and watch their enemies in their final hours. |
Oh. MY. GOSH!
ReplyDeleteAre you craving chicken, or are you done for a while?
Great post!
ReplyDeleteI m really thankful 2b a vegetarian and yes afraid of blood n gore and an animal rights activist-who wants to torture a living thing like that?u were brave to go in there and take pictures-they didn't seem bothered at all-amazing!
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