Djordi in the neighbours’ back garden. Photo: Steven Snijders Who: Djordi Soet, student International Development Studies
What: Culling chickens after a bird flu outbreak
Why: Culling chickens is a gruesome job that is not for the faint-hearted.
Hourly wages: €19.06 (before taxes. 200 per cent on Sundays)
You’ve got to make ends meet somehow. We can all borrow from Uncle Duo, but there are also students who earn their money in surprising ways. In this series, we discover some unusual side jobs. This time: Djordi Soet (24). When bird flu is diagnosed in a barn, the chickens are culled. They are first gassed and then removed. Djordi helped with this gruesome job twice.
‘You get protective clothing, including a gas mask, and you get a flu shot. The shot is a precautionary measure to reduce the risk of mutations. We’d be even worse off if the bird flu virus became more infectious to humans, or vice versa. Afterwards, the protective clothing is burnt and you have to shower before you can leave the premises. It is very demanding physically. It puts a lot of strain on your back and you sweat incredibly in those clothes.
Yet I really wanted to do these jobs. I am interested in the ethical questions surrounding our food system. I have been a vegetarian for six years and I recently became a vegan. In my International Development Studies degree programme, you learn about the “participatory observation” research method used in sociology and anthropology. The method helps you gain a better understanding of a phenomenon by experiencing it yourself. This approach to learning inspired me to do this work.’
Sometimes you stand on a chicken that still has air in its lungs, and a last cluck comes out
‘It is a bizarre experience to go into a barn and dispose of over 100,000 dead chickens. You have to grab several chickens at a time and throw them into a wheelbarrow. Sometimes you stand on a chicken that still has air in its lungs, and a last cluck comes out. And yet it didn’t make much impact on me at the time, as it all starts to feel a bit surreal.
Some of my colleagues were farmers themselves or had family with a farm. On my second day on the job, I started talking to them more and I mentioned that I am a vegan. It was interesting to discover that we agreed on a lot of issues. Activist groups like Wakker Dier and poultry farmers are often on opposite sides, but I think they are potentially allies. I also learned that poultry farmers have set up their own fund to help farmers whose chickens have been culled financially. My colleagues asked me: what is it like to do this as a vegetarian? But I know that at least I am not contributing to it, since I am a vegan. So I asked them: what is it like to do this work as a meat-eater?’
Are you or do you know someone with an unusual side job or summer job? Send an e-mail to steven.snijders@wur.nl
