Homes for Hens

Photo from: Homesforhens

We have always been given chickens that people no longer wanted or could no longer keep. A friend recently adopted some ex "free range" chickens from http://www.homesforhens.net/

There are an estimated 11 to 12 million hens living in battery conditions in Australia, 26 million in Canada and  Battery hens are kept in a cage the size of an A4 piece of paper and are often kept under artificial lighting to maximise egg laying. The cruelty does not end there, these poor birds never see sunlight, grass or have the ability to stretch their legs and are often de-beaked to reduce injuries.

Bans on battery hen farming in EU have resulted in hens living in "enriched cages" to get around this ban. Over 500 million of these souls are now still living in cages.

Community awareness is increasing and many more people are refusing to accept cage eggs. Sadly not all free range farms provide great conditions for their birds either and the hens are usually replaced every eighteen months to three years. So what happens to the birds that are no longer wanted?
This is where rescue and re-homing organisations come in and where a person like you can give these ladies a home.

You will be amazed at what great friends these girls can be!!

If you think you have the space and time to give some of these girls a better life, have a look at this page and decide if you want to be a carer
http://www.animalsaustralia.org/features/adopt-a-battery-hen.php


Here is a short video from Edgar's Mission to help you decide

There are some organisations who rescue and rehome hens;  Facebook is also a great place to search:
In Australia:
http://www.henrescue.org/adopt

https://www.edgarsmission.org.au/

http://www.freedomhill.com.au/hen-adoption

https://www.farmanimalrescue.org.au/

http://veganact.org.au/poultry-place/


In United States:

http://www.chickenrescue.org/

https://www.facebook.com/rescuehen/

https://animalplace.org/helping-hens-rescue/


Canada:

http://www.humanefood.ca/adopt_a_hen.html

http://rastarescue.org/?page_id=630


Britain:

http://www.afarireland.org/exbatteryhenrescue.htm

http://www.bhwt.org.uk/rehome-some-hens/

http://www.fsfh.org.uk/


Europe:

https://fr-fr.facebook.com/exbatteryhens


If your country is not listed, google search or have a look for a Facebook group.

Image via :ABC News

Julie O'Shea in Northern New South Wales, Australia managed to re-home nearly four hundred chickens from a nearby battery hen farm using Facebook.

Plight of the Hmong people in Laos

KC.Oritz -TIME magazine

I just finished reading "Nightmare in Laos" by Kay Danes. This is the dramatic story of an Australian woman who was imprisoned in a detention camp in Laos. I was deeply saddened by her struggles, but the plight of the Hmong people in Laos is what struck me the most. I have worked along side people who had escaped Laos only to work on farms in Australia, despite being very well educated people, so this story really made me think about what it must be like to lose your homeland to an invading country who have completely different beliefs to you and who appear to want your culture completely erased.
Sadly, this has happened to so many people throughout the world and continues to happen even now. Too many of us lead comfortable lives, never giving a thought to the well being of our fellow Earthlings. The Hmong people live in regions of Southern China, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. During the First and Second Indochina wars, France and the CIA in America recruited thousands of Hmong people, many of whom were young boys to fight against the invading Vietnamese and Pathet Lao insurgents. After the war many of the Hmong fled as refugees to Thailand seeking political asylum. Some have been lucky and resettled in Western countries, but many are still suffering in their own country while most of the world is unaware. So many tourists visit both Thailand and Laos with very little idea of the dangerous and brutal undercurrents in these countries. The Pathet Lao declared the Hmong people dead and continue to imprison, interrogate and kill these people whenever possible. The Hmong people continue to live in fear of the Laos people's army today as they are still perceived to be spies for the United States. Many are living in camps in the mountainous regions of Laos and Thailand.

www.rfa.org

Internal displacement monitoring centre

There appear to be very few organisations willing to help these people, but I did find RADION International are doing what they can to help. This is their website if you would like to have a look
http://www.radion-international.org/
I also highly recommend reading more about the Hmong people's culture and history.

Eating in the light

Must watch - Too Cute

                 I came across this short video on Jenny Lawson's blog - thebloggess.com/

                                                           

                                                 Enjoy

                                          

                                                                   

Aurora Australis

We are surrounded by so much beauty on this amazing planet. Visiting Tasmania to see Aurora Australis is at the top of my bucket list. The Earth's light show occurs when electrically charged sun particles collide with each other when entering earth's atmosphere.

These fantastic photographs show why I want to visit. For more information and to view an amazing gallery visit .http://www.auroraaustralistasmania.org/

Via Secret Escapes

Via Pinterest

Via ABC.net.au