Whoever deemed chickens synonymous with cowardice obviously didn’t tell my 14-year‑old bantam who took on a hungry Harris hawk and won (Chickens are synonymous with cowardice. Is it time to stick up for our feathered friends?, 11 November).
I kept chickens for more than 15 years and found them to be intelligent, unique characters who could be brave, funny, naughty, loving and kind in equal measure.
They display a wide range of emotions, including empathy for members of their flock that were ill, and grief at their passing. They also took great delight in terrorising my cats and stealing food from the plates of small children.
Branding chicken-kind broadly as cowardly removes their individuality and, as with labelling foxes as cunning or sheep as stupid, merely serves to justify our treatment of these “dumb” animals.
Jo Barlow
Torquay, Devon
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