To the editor: If Zoe Rosenberg achieved her mission of releasing every poultry chicken from captivity, she would fail at her goal of making “every animal … safe and happy, free” (“An animal rights activist said she ‘rescued’ chickens. A jury convicted her of conspiracy,” Oct. 30). What Rosenberg and vigilantes like her fail to understand is that the species Gallus gallus domesticus exists solely as a result of human husbandry and agriculture. These highly inbred animals are completely incapable of living in the wild. They are unable to feed themselves or protect themselves from all manner of predators. If these activists achieved their goal, the species would quickly go extinct.
On the other hand, as it stands, from an evolutionary standpoint, the poultry chicken is one of the most successful species on the planet. As long as humans continue to farm and eat Gallus gallus domesticus, its survival as a species is as secure as our own.
If animal rights activists are looking to help animals be “happy” and “free,” they should refocus their attention to protecting wild endangered species. In the real world, there is no such thing as safety; there’s only survival of the fittest. But at least with those animals, there is a theoretical possibility that they might be happy and free.
