It was the Thursday before Memorial Day, one of the busiest travel weekends of the year, when we got the call: 60 “broiler” chickens had fallen off a transport truck headed for a Brooklyn live market.

Officers who stopped a truck in Glendale, CA, in early October thought they had a routine traffic violation on their hands.

We almost didn’t meet Jane. Last week, she was on her way to slaughter, along with dozens of other “broiler” chickens.

With the skyrocketing popularity of the backyard chicken coops, more people are raising chickens for meat at home — some as a hobby and others, with good intentions, hoping to circumvent the ills of the factory farm system.

All of the baby turkeys were underweight and partially bald. Several were afflicted with enlarged joints and curled toes — signs of malnourishment.

On May 15, 2011, an exuberant throng of vegetarians, many wielding signs and more than a few in full costume, marched through New York City in its fourth annual Veggie Pride Parade.

Clementine could not be blamed for her initial distrust of humans. She was, after all, recently imperiled by a bit of ill-conceived human mischief.

Every year on Yom Kippur, people of Jewish faith seek atonement through fasting and other traditional observances, but there remains a very small segment of believers who endeavor to cleanse their sins by practicing a rite of animal sacrifice.

Why did this chicken cross the road? No one’s quite sure, but she must have traveled far to get to the suburban backyard in Carmichael, California where two young animal-loving siblings named Daniel (age 13) and Emma (age 10) Mecham found her wandering around.

With panoramic views of the Hudson River, lush flower gardens and its historic Cloisters museum, Fort Tryon Park in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan is an exquisite haven of nature amidst New York City's concrete-encrusted landscape.