About United Poultry Concerns

United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the compassionate and respectful treatment of chickens, turkeys, ducks and other domestic fowl. We hold that the treatment of these birds in the areas of food production, science, education, entertainment, and humane companionship situations has a significant effect upon human, animal, and environmental welfare. We seek to make the public aware of the ways in which poultry are used, and to promote the benefits of a vegan diet and lifestyle. We provide information through our quarterly magazine Poultry Press, our Website at www.upc-online.org, and our sanctuary in Machipongo, Virginia on the Eastern Shore. We invite you to join us and support our work.

Founded in 1990 by Karen Davis, United Poultry Concerns is the world's foremost non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the respectful treatment of domestic fowl. UPC runs a haven for chickens in Virginia, and also teaches people about the egg and chicken meat industries, the natural lives of free chickens, pleasures and benefits of human-chicken companionship, and alternatives to chicken farming and the use of chickens in education and scientific experimentation. – Dr. Annie Potts, Chicken, 2012

Our Mission

United Poultry Concerns is a 501(c)(3) national non-profit organization that addresses the treatment of domestic fowl in food production, science, education, entertainment, and human companionship situations.

United Poultry Concerns seeks to make the public aware of the ways poultry are treated by our society and elsewhere in the world. We assist the public to see how our treatment of these birds affects our health, our ethics, our education, our occupational safety, and our environment. We inform people about and actively promote alternatives. We do this through our extensive investigations, our chicken sanctuary, public talks, writings, mailings, conferences, information displays, and film presentations using such sources as public interest groups, animal advocacy organizations, poultry trade publications, government agencies, and scientific journals and proceedings.

Why We focus on Chickens and other "Domestic Fowl"

These birds are the largest number of abused warm-blooded animals in the world. Along with the billions of birds who are slaughtered for "food" each year, millions more suffer in laboratories, get dumped in animal shelters, and die miserably in poultry houses without anyone knowing that they ever lived.

We Operate a Poultry Paradise

This is why United Poultry Concerns was started. We are dedicated to the making of a future in which every chicken, turkey and duck has a voice that is heard. As part of our mission, United Poultry Concerns operates a unique sanctuary for chickens and other domestic fowl in Machipongo, Virginia. We invite the public to visit us and see what a chicken can be when a chicken is free!

We Conduct National and International Campaigns

United Poultry Concerns is leading the way to replace school hatching programs with humane alternatives and to stop the cruel starvation of hens used for egg production known as "forced molting," and much more. The US Department of Agriculture praised United Poultry Concerns for "raising the public consciousness on the issue and creating opportunities for action."

Our Magazine & Other Publications

United Poultry Concerns publishes a quarterly Magazine, Poultry Press. We offer a variety of educational materials including Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs: An Inside Look at the Modern Poultry Industry, Replacing School Hatching Projects, Replacing Eggs, and Instead of Chicken, Instead of Turkey: A Poultryless "Poultry" Potpourri.

We Depend on Public Support

United Poultry Concerns is the only organization in the country and possibly the world exclusively devoted to the plight of domestic fowl. We are funded entirely by people who care and who want to make a difference for these birds--people like you. Please support us.

Please Join UPC Today

All contributions are greatly appreciated and fully tax‑deductible.

Employer Identification Number: 52‑1705678