PETA awards CPD after officer rescues abandoned chicken in Lincoln Park

The Chicago Police Department is the latest recipient of PETA’s Compassionate Police Department Award after an officer saved a chicken in Lincoln Park last month.

Someone called police to report a “chicken in distress” on the side of the road near Lincoln and Cleveland on April 21, according to a statement from PETA, which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

A responding officer found the female chicken inside a plastic bag with its legs tied together.

The officer took the bird to a police station overnight, not sure if it would survive. When the officer checked on it the next day, he found the chicken was alive and was taken to the Chicago Chicken Rescue, according to PETA.

The officer followed up on the bird’s progress and was told it is “thriving and mothering several abandoned chicks and ducklings at the rescue,” PETA said.

“PETA hopes this story will encourage everyone to see chickens as sensitive living beings who feel pain, fear, and love just like the companion cats and dogs who share our homes,” PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien said in the statement.

PETA will send the department a framed certificate, an award letter and “vegan chick’n” from The Chicago Diner, a vegetarian and vegan restaurant.

Last year, PETA gave the CPD the same award after an officer saved a dog from drowning in Lake Michigan.