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How Commercial Animal Industries Produce Cruelty

In the next part of our conversation with undercover investigator, author, and advocate Pete Paxton, Pete steps back from what he witnessed inside a commercial bird-breeding operation and looks at a pattern he has seen throughout decades of investigating animal industries.

“The less human interaction with animals in a commercial environment, the more neglect. The more human interaction, the more violence.”

From bird-breeding facilities and egg farms to other intensive animal industries, Pete describes systems where large numbers of animals must be managed quickly and inexpensively. In those environments, individual needs can become secondary to efficiency and production.

His point is an important one: cruelty cannot always be explained simply by pointing to individual “bad actors.” We also have to examine the systems and economic pressures that allow neglect and suffering to become routine.

Different species. Different industries. But Pete has seen the same patterns again and again.

Go back and watch other clips from this interview.

Animals are individuals! Not units of production!
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Bizzy, our Bird of the Month, is the queen of “anting!”
If you’ve spent time around Goffin’s Cockatoos, you may have seen them do something a little quirky: rubbing or tucking pieces of toys, food, or other materials into their feathers. This behavior resembles anting, a fascinating behavior seen in many wild bird species. During active anting, birds pick up ants or other materials and rub them through their feathers. Ants can release formic acid, and scientists have proposed several possible functions for anting, including feather maintenance and parasite control. Although exactly why birds do it is still being studied.
And Bizzy has her own version!
One of our amazing volunteers made this bead toy for her, and Bizzy LOVES removing the beads and flicking them underneath her wings. Watching her carefully choose which materials she wants to use is just as fascinating as the behavior itself.
It’s a wonderful reminder that enrichment isn't one-size-fits-all. Every parrot has individual preferences—what they like to chew, shred, manipulate, explore, and interact with.
Our job is to notice. When we pay attention to what each bird chooses to do, we can provide enrichment that encourages those interests and gives them more opportunities to engage in meaningful behaviors.
Sometimes good enrichment is about what we make. Sometimes it's about watching what they choose to do with it. 💚
#MAARS #Parrots #Sanctuary #Cockatoos #Nonprofit ... See MoreSee Less