“It seems more people than ever are talking about chickens. Much of the credit goes to United Poultry Concerns. Few groups have done as much as UPC to raise awareness about the plight of birds people want to eat.” - Mark Hawthorne, Review of Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs, 2009

Dear Friend,

In 2010, United Poultry Concerns celebrates its 20th year advocating for the compassionate and respectful treatment of chickens, turkeys and other domestic fowl. When I founded UPC in 1990, many people said, “How can an organization dedicated exclusively to the plight of birds people want to eat be successful?”

Twenty years later, United Poultry Concerns is one of the most respected, dedicated and successful animal rights organizations in the world.

From our explosive disclosure in the 1990s of the horrific starvation practice by the U.S. egg industry known as forced molting, to our successful campaign to eliminate Canandaigua Academy’s brutal chicken slaughter project in 2008, to our ongoing effort to replace the kapparot chicken-swinging ritual with compassionate alternatives, UPC is the leading advocate for chickens in all areas of their exploitation and abuse.

But we don’t just focus on abuse. We show people the beautiful, inspirited beings that chickens and turkeys are when they are breathing fresh air, enjoying the sunlight, digging in the earth, and having a good time with each other! Our sanctuary on the Virginia Eastern Shore provides the intimate personal experience that allows us to challenge false stereotypes with truthful representations of who these wonderful birds are when they are not being mistreated.

Right now, we are working to stop yet another horrendous classroom chicken slaughter project from being repeated - this time in Sun Valley, Idaho - and we have joined with other sanctuaries in formulating a Collective Policy Statement & Recommendations for municipalities faced with the growing trend of urban chicken-keeping and the attendant flood of unwanted hens and roosters being “liquidated” as part of the “raise-your-own-food” fad.

Working on these and many other issues, we urge you to remember United Poultry Concerns in your holiday gift-giving this year. OUR WORK DEPENDS ON YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT. Your contributions make possible our sanctuary and all of our programs designed to educate people about the plight - and delight - of chickens and other domestic fowl, and the Joy of Not Eating Them. Thank You for Your Continuing Support in the New Year. We are grateful to all of our members, and we wish you a joyful holiday season.

Karen Davis, PhD
President & Founder
United Poultry Concerns

For more information about projects noted in this holiday appeal, see:

www.upc-online.org/chickens/backyard_poultry.html
www.upc-online.org/classroom/
www.upc-online.org/stories/
www.upc-online.org/molting/

United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization. Federal ID: 52-1705678. All donations are tax-deductible. A financial statement is available on written request to the Office of Consumer Affairs, PO Box 1163, Richmond, Virginia 23218. Our 990 tax forms, Annual Reports & Audits are posted on our website at www.upc-online.org. To view these documents, click on About UPC on our homepage at www.upc-online.org/more_about_upc.html. Thank you.