The "Town" Chicken

A "town" chicken is the term that I use to describe a chicken that is reared commercially, as opposed to a "kampung" (village) chicken. A "kampung" chicken is the term given by Malaysians to describe a chicken that is reared in the "kampung" or at our own backyard. It lives naturally in the "kampung" environment and is allowed to wander around the compound to fend for food. If it is allowed to roam during the day, by nighttfall it will return to the chicken coop. The "kampung" chicken is normally fed with left-over rice from the day's meals or uncooked rice if there are no left-overs.

In the past, I normally avoided taking the "town" chicken and preferred the "kampung" chicken instead, simply because its flesh tastes better. There was one exception though, which was the KFC chicken - Colonel Sanders had indeed invented a delicious recipe for the fried chicken. I really enjoyed the KFC chicken back then. However, after I gained knowledge about how the town chicken was bred and treated up to the stage where it was slaughtered, I decided once and for all, to give up consuming the "town" chicken. I am going to tell you why I do that, as follows:

1). Chicken Feed

I understand from an "Ustaz" (Religious Teacher) that 60% of the chicken feed consists of animal bones, which are grinded into powder before it is mixed together with the other chicken feed. Further investigation into the source of the powder by the Ustaz brought him to a factory in a neighbouring country. which specialises in grinding of animal bones into a powder form, and it includes pig's bones too. He also mentioned that manufacturers of toothpaste in that country use the powdered animal bones as one of the ingredients in making toothpaste. He therefore advised Muslims against buying toothpaste made in that country.

2). Growth Hormones

The town chicken are also fed with growth hormones to make them grow faster so that they can be sold to consumers within a short time, as compared to the time taken for a kampung chicken to grow to the same size. The Ustaz mentioned that the growth hormone given to the chicken supposedly encourages the growth of cancer cells in the body. An interview which was conducted with cancer patients at one time revealed that their favourite food was "town" chicken.

3). Cancer-causing Antibiotics

Chicken farmers believe in the motto "Prevention is Better than Cure". So they also include antibiotics in the chicken feed to prevent the chicken from contracting chicken diseases easily. Some diseases can cause them to die instantly. This is a good move by the farmers, except that the antibiotics are bad for human consumption.

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) had conducted several random checks on chicken farms which frequently revealed the deplorable filthy conditions and rampant antibiotic abuse on the farms.

CAP revealed that in 2003 alone, 13 out of 17 samples of chickens which were tested were found to contain bacteria which were resistant to either Nitrofuran or Chloroamphenicol, or both. Both Nitrofuran (a cancer-causing agent) and Chloroamphenicol (which can cause potentially fatal bone marrow depression in some people) are banned in food. Therefore they should not be present in chickens.

4). Physical Abuse

Islam forbids treating any animal in a cruel manner. It is said in the Quran that "There is not an animal on earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but they are communities like you..." (Al-Anaam : 38).

It was narrated by Anas r.a. that the Prophet s.a.w. said, "All creatures are like a family of God and He loves the most those who are the most beneficient to His family." (Al Bukhari)

If you have been to a typical farm, where the "town" chicken are reared, you would observe that there are not enough room for them to move about such that they cannot even spread their own wings, let alone move freely to exercise their muscles. They are also debeaked (a painful procedure) to reduce further pecking and cannabalism. Basic natural behaviour such as foraging, nesting and laying eggs in privacy is impossible. As a result, they suffer many health problems such as feather loss, skin damage, injury to their feet (including abnormal claw growth) and poor bone development (which leads to bones, especially in the legs, being easily broken).

Islam teaches us to love and respect all the creatures ("makhluk') of Allah, irrespective of their usefulness or their apparent harmfulness.

Abu Huraira r.a. reported the Prophet s.a.w. as telling of an incident that happened to another prophet in the past. This prophet was stung by an ant and in anger, he ordered the whole of the ants' nest to be burned. At this point God reprimanded this prophet in these words: "Because one ant stung you, you have burned a whole community which glorified Me." (from Bukhari and Muslim).

Apart from the deplorable conditions in which these chicken are being "brought up" at the farms, they are also treated very badly at the place where they are slaughtered. Eyewitness accounts from ex-workers of such a place reported reprehensible mistreatment of the chickens, such as chicken with popped-out eyeballs, broken bones, disfigured and missing body parts and chickens that are scalded alive and have their bodies literally blown to pieces. In short, from their breeding ground to the time they are slaughtered, these chickens suffered and are treated in the most inhumane manner.

It was related that Shaddad ibn Aws r.a. said: "I recalled two things that the Messenger of God (prayers and peace be upon him) said: "Indeed God has enjoined upon you to be kind to all that you slaughter, so slaughter in a kind manner and when you slaughter, slaughter well. Everyone of you should keep his knife sharp and permit the animal to die in comfort." (from Muslim)

Thus, it can be deduced from the above "hadith" that if the chickens in the farm and the place of slaughter are not treated kindly or they die in discomfort, then it is "haram" (prohibited) to consume them.

In more recent investigations, CAP's tests have even discovered that chicken is one of the most unsafe meats in the market as it is frequently badly contaminated with bacteria - a clear indication of unhealthy chicken breeding and processing practices.

Lastly, most of the commercial chicken farms in Malaysia are owned and operated by non-Muslims. These non-Muslims sometime do not understand the proper method of slaughtering the chicken in the Islamic way. These farms consider slaughtering the Islamic way as very cumbersome and time-consuming. Even though they are being regularly monitored by the religious department, there are still some of them who try to avoid slaughtering it the proper way.

So, I hope now you can understand why I don't take the town chicken anymore. However, if I have the urge to eat chicken, I either go for organic chicken or "kampung" chicken, which are a bit more expensive, but at least I am assured that they are "halal" and hygienic.