In the first episode of TV series ‘Meat the Family,’ which aired on TVNZ 1 last night, a family was given three chickens to raise as ‘pets’ over a three-week period.

At the end of this time they were then faced with the decision whether to kill and eat the animals they had cared for and bonded with or save their lives by going vegetarian and sending the animals to a sanctuary.

SAFE spokesperson Will Appelbe says the option offered to the family to have the chickens slaughtered was very sanitised.

"If they had to see the birds being slaughtered, or slaughter the birds themselves, I think they would have made a different decision."

Appelbe says the family traumatised themselves over their decision whether or not to slaughter the birds they had bonded with, because the alternative choice of vegetarianism seemed unthinkable.

"What they needed was someone to say to them, ‘Actually, you don’t need to kill the animals you love. It’s easy to go vegetarian, and this is how you do it.’"

The show also described in detail the suffering chickens bred for meat have to endure during their short lives.

There are no slow-growing breeds currently available in New Zealand, so the approximately 120 million chickens bred for meat in New Zealand all suffer from the same health complications described in the show.

SAFE is New Zealand’s leading animal rights organisation.

We're creating a future that ensures the rights of animals are respected. Our core work empowers society to make kinder choices for ourselves, animals and our planet.

Notes for editors:

- Link to the first episode of ‘Meat the Family.’

- Footage of chickens bred for meat. This footage was taken on several visits to an Auckland chicken ‘free-range’ factory farm, between November 2018 and February 2019.

- In New Zealand, nearly all farmers use Cobb and Ross chickens, both of which have been selectively bred over many generations to put on weight very quickly. They double in size every week, reaching the desired slaughter weight of about 2.5kg at only about six weeks of age. If any of these birds were fortunate enough to be rescued and allowed to live naturally, they usually would not survive past their first birthday due to the health effects of their genetic disposition.

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