Dora the Chicken Is a Finalist in PETA’s ‘Chicken Star Search’

Rescued Bird Loves Exploring, Eating Watermelon, and Hanging Out With Her Horse Best Friend

For Immediate Release:
November 25, 2019

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

The “top flock” of feathery finalists have been chosen in PETA’s first-ever “Make Your Chicken a Star” competition—and Dora, a chicken who was rescued from a factory farm that went bankrupt last December and who now lives at a local sanctuary, is among them. Voting is now open to the public to help determine the winner, who will be revealed on December 9.

According to her guardian, Kris, 10-month-old Dora “the Explorer” is the most adventurous of the rescued hens at the sanctuary. She enjoys exploring the property’s tall grasses alone or spending time with her horse friend, Thelma Lou—and she never turns down a treat of watermelon, her favorite snack. “I want others to know that chickens are individuals, they have unique personalities and likes and dislikes,” says Kris. “They form friendships. They are friends, not food.”

“Even though her early life was filled with suffering, Dora’s adventurous, curious spirit endured,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “All the brave, resilient chickens in PETA’s contest are smart, sentient beings who value companionship and their own lives and have formed an unbreakable bond with their loving guardians.”

The winning chicken will be featured in a new PETA ad and in PETA Global magazine and will receive a gift basket stuffed with toys and treats, and the winner’s guardian will receive a framed award and prize pack that includes a T-shirt, a vegan cookbook, and more (plus bragging rights, of course).

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. PETA will choose the winner based on several factors, including vote count. For more information, please visit PETA.org or click here.