Dear Friend,

2017 marks our 27th year of dedicated activism for chickens, turkeys and other domestic fowl. Twenty-seven years ago, skeptics tried to warn me that an organization dedicated to helping “poultry” could not survive. How wrong they were!

With our eyes always fixed on expanding the ethic of compassion toward these amazing birds, please help us keep fighting for them. Your generous tax-deductible gift to United Poultry Concerns will help us accomplish our goals in 2017!

I write this appeal to you following a visit to our sanctuary on Saturday, November 12th by Professor Tom Horton and his Environmental Studies class at Salisbury University in Salisbury Maryland. Only one student out of nine had ever been around chickens before. They were fascinated to watch our hens jumping in and out of a box of lettuce and one white hen with a big lettuce leaf in her beak being chased around the yard by others snatching off bits of the lettuce she held tight until all that was left was a tatter.

Tom Horton told us about a commercial chicken farmer’s observation in Virginia of one particular chick in his flock of thousands. In the huge sheds, the chickens can reach only one drop of water at a time from a drinker suspended to rise automatically to kill off the chickens who aren’t growing fast enough. The slower growing chicks are left to die slowly of thirst.

The farmer told Tom how one of his chickens, who should have died, was determined to get to that water. She hopped onto the back of the larger chickens to reach the drinker. The farmer was touched. If only her resourcefulness could have saved her from what lay ahead . . .

Our sanctuary chickens reveal their love of life every minute of each day. A recent visitor told me how a friend of hers in a deep depression was lifted out of her mood when she adopted three hens. Their cheerfulness was irresistible.

And when chickens are sad, their despondency will break your heart.

United Poultry Concerns provides comprehensive information about chickens in and out of the poultry industry. Through our public outreach campaigns and activities, we educate people to perceive the intelligence and feelings of these endearing birds. We educate people to not want to eat chickens once they see that a chicken is a friend not food.

I am privileged to have been inducted into the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame for “Outstanding Contributions to Animal Liberation.” It is my greatest honor in life to be a passionate advocate for chickens and turkeys through United Poultry Concerns. Thank you for sharing our commitment and care. We look forward to your generous support for our work in the year ahead.

From all of your feathered friends & our staff at United Poultry Concerns, we wish you a very happy New Year!

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.