01 November 2013

The Capon's Last Day


So there I was - sitting with friends in my favourite bar in my favourite village in all the world - Gorbio and the Bar les Terrasses - when in walked a capon. Well, he didn't 'walk' - he was being carried by his owner and was on his way to becoming dinner for the family.

Several visitors seemed a little upset at this but it seems to me that this is a bird who has lived a good life outdoors, doing whatever it is chickens like to do - this is no battery hen - and he will be killed quickly and humanely. I'm a vegetarian but only because I can't stand factory farming and calves transported from one country to another in trucks. Not so this capon.

I remember when I lived in Wales and all my friends (and me) lived a hippie, self-sufficient life. I wasn't a vegetarian in those days and well remember visiting friends who announced 'Tonight we are eating Bella, an old chicken' - and we did and we drank to her and thanked her. She had had a good life.

*****

J'étais donc là - assise avec des amis dans mon bar préféré de mon village préféré au monde - Gorbio et le bar Les Terrasses - lorsque qu' un chapon est entré. Enfin, il ne  « marchait » pas - il était porté par son propriétaire et était en route pour devenir le dîner de la famille.

Plusieurs visiteurs semblaient un peu contrarié de cela, mais il me semble que c'est un volatile qui a vécu une bonne vie en plein air, faisant ce que les poulets aiment faire - non pas comme  des poulets en batterie - et il sera tué rapidement et sans cruauté. Je suis végétarienne, mais seulement parce que je ne peux pas supporter l'élevage industriel et les veaux transportés d'un pays à l'autre dans des camions. Ce qui n'est pas le cas pour ce coq.


Je me souviens du temps où je vivais au Pays de Galles et qu'avec tous mes amis nous menions une vie hippie, une vie autonome. Je n'étais pas un végétarienne alors et je me souviens bien d'une visite chez des amis qui ont annoncé « Ce soir, nous mangeons Bella, le poule' - ce nous avons fait et nous avons bu en son honneur et l'avons remerciée. Elle avait eu une bonne vie.

6 comments:

  1. I know I'm far too sentimental......I can't bear the thought of animals being eaten, and yet I eat them....doesn't make sense does it? I'm obviously a crazy, mixed up woman!!!

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  2. He "left" in loving arms.

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  3. The title made me think you had a photo of Al Capon, but it was poultry instead. We all have our place in nature's scheme, and I am sure "Al" ate a few bugs before he became the family's dinner. We were vegetarians once as well, but we went off the wagon when we lived in Menton. Within a few weeks we were visiting our butcher on rue Trencha regularly. Who could resist those chickens roasting on the sidewalk!

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  4. Dietary matters notwithstanding, I really like the juxtaposition of the puma with the chicken.

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  5. Personally, I like getting chicken in a store looking nothing like a real chicken. That way, I don't have to think about it.

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  6. A very good point you're making, Jilly.

    I personally never buy anything else than free range eggs and chickens these days but I have to admit the question of how they're slaughtered still isn't addressed.

    Congratulations to Bob for his sharp eye. That's a fun juxtaposition!

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