People who care about the suffering of animals often use the phrase “put yourself in their place”. Now, thanks to an innovative virtual reality (VR) project by PETA US, that concept is no longer just a metaphor.
“I, Chicken” is a virtual reality experience that recreates what it’s like to be a chicken using cutting-edge technology – including wireless VR goggles, motion-capture cameras and powerful computers – as well as input from leading VR psychologists. It allows people to become fully immersed in a chicken’s world, including flapping their wings, exploring their surroundings, taking dust baths and communicating with “other” birds.
However, as is the case for billions of real chickens, the experience ends somewhat abruptly.
Watch the video to learn more about the project:
“I, Chicken” will be going on a tour of college campuses in the US to help thousands of young people see the world from a chicken’s point of view – and to encourage them to make kinder dietary choices that don’t inflict suffering on these intelligent animals and result in their painful deaths.
Of course, you don’t need virtual reality to feel empathy and compassion for others and to understand that animals such as chickens are sensitive, complex individuals with distinct personalities. Once they know the facts – that chickens who are raised for food are kept in crowded sheds or cramped cages, mutilated by having the ends of their beaks cut off and often sent to slaughter when they’re as young as 41 days old – most people have second thoughts about eating meat and eggs.
If you’d like to make chickens’ experience better, why not adopt a compassionate vegan diet for the next 30 days?
