Dyeing Easter Chicks Raises Concerns

Chicks can be colored with nontoxic dye as embryos near the end of incubation or sprayed quickly with a mist as hatchlings. While poultry farmers say it is harmless, many people object, saying it turns live birds into holiday playthings that are quickly discarded.

About half the states and a scattering of municipalities have laws against the practice, but in Florida last month, the Legislature passed a bill to overturn a 45-year-old ban on dyeing animals.

The outcry from animal rights groups has been swift.

“Humane societies are overflowing with these animals after Easter every year,” said Don Anthony of the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida.

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