Quebec's Labour Day 'chicken massacre' cancelled
Marianne White, Canwest News Service
Published: Tuesday, August 19

QUEBEC - The Thetford Chicken Massacre is not as well-known as the
Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but the controversial Quebec tradition in
which participants place bets while decapitated chickens run around is
coming to an end.

Organizers of the annual activity in the eastern Quebec town of
Thetford Mines defended the pastime but caved in to pressure Tuesday
and cancelled the event, which was deemed "barbaric" by animal rights
groups.

The little-known event has been taking place for several years on
Labour Day when about a hundred people gather to watch decapitated
chickens and turkeys flop around on a grid painted on the ground.

The animal rights group PETA wants to put an end to a tradition in the
eastern Quebec town of Thetford Mines known as the 'Chicken Massacre.'
Every year, a hundred people gather to watch decapitated chickens and
turkeys flop around on a grid painted on the ground.

The animal rights group PETA wants to put an end to a tradition in the
eastern Quebec town of Thetford Mines known as the 'Chicken Massacre.'

Participants bet in advance on which of the grid's squares the body
will come to rest after the head is cut off. Driven by nerve impulses,
poultry often run around frenziedly for several minutes after
decapitation.

Protests arose after participants posted on the Internet a video of
people laughing while decapitated chickens hopped around, as well as
photos of past events on Facebook. The web pages were shut down Tuesday.

The U.S.-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
called the activity "redneck" and "gratuitously cruel."

"You don't torture animals just to have fun," said Kristin DeJournett,
spokeswoman for PETA. She said she was especially shocked to see
spectators betting on the imminent death of animals.

"They are profiting off the exploitation and possible suffering of
these animals," DeJournett charged.

She said the activity could violate section 446 of the Canadian
Criminal Code, dealing with animal cruelty. But the Quebec provincial
police said Tuesday no one has lodged a complaint.

Dr. Gaston Dorval, who hosts the party for his sons at his cottage
every year, was adamant they are not torturing the poultry. He said
the heads of the animals are clearly severed and that it is the
fastest way to kill them.

"If this is torture, then we should close all slaughterhouses in
Quebec," Dorval said from his gynecology clinic in Thetford Mines,
about 230 kilometres east of Montreal. "They cut the chicken's throat
and let them bleed to death. That's much more painful, but you don't
see it."

Dorval also downplayed the importance of the so-called "Chicken
Massacre" and said two or three animals were killed every year to feed
the guests.

"It started out with people who came from the big cities and had never
seen a headless chicken run. They wanted to see it to believe it,"
Dorval explained.

He said the Labour Day party will still take place, but noted that
this time around they will buy chicken at the supermarket.

"Our society is hypocritical," Dorval said. "People don't want to see
how animals are killed. But I have news for them, the meat doesn't
appear in their plate miraculously, you have to kill the animal."

Thetford Mines' mayor, as well as Quebec's SPCA, denounced the event
and expressed satisfaction when organizers cancelled it.

"I think it sends a clear message to those who have similar ideas,"
said Manon Legare of the SPCA.