Machipongo, Va. /May 1 -- United Poultry Concerns (UPC) announces its second annual International Respect for Chickens Day May 4.  The purpose of Respect for Chickens Day is to celebrate the dignity, beauty and life of chickens and to protest against the bleakness of their lives in farming operations.

For International Respect for Chickens Day, educators, students, office workers and activists are encouraged to do an ACTION for chickens – everything from showing the movie Chicken Run to setting up a school library display to leafleting on a busy street corner.

A farmed animal sanctuary outside Washington DC celebrates Respect for Chickens Day by having visiting students discuss “What Wings Are For,” inspired by UPC’s poster showing a mother hen with her chick tucked under her wing.

A Minneapolis group is holding a Most Beautiful Chicken Photo contest with prizes for the winners.

Activists in Vancouver, B.C. are doing radio interviews and street demonstrations with their huge hen HENNY to show the suffering of egg-laying chickens and why people should boycott eggs from hens in cages.

On April 28, the Los Angeles Times Orange County Edition ran an article about the Day by Dana Parsons. In “Respect for Chickens: Making a Day of It,” UPC President Karen Davis explained why the project is important. “I believe these chickens should have a voice that cares, speaking out for them and wanting to change how people perceive and treat them,” she said. “I believe we should be there for these birds.”