chickens slaughtered for pinikpikan (philippines) - 36 photos

Photos of chickens being slaughtered to make Pinikpikan, or as Filipinos call it: “killing me softly chicken.” Pinikpikan is a traditional chicken dish of the mountains of the Cordillera region in the Philippines.

Pinikpikan is prepared with chickens that have been beaten with a stick while still alive, then singed by fire (at which point the chickens finally die, if they did not already succumb to the live beating).

It is claimed that beating the chicken alive bruises the meat thus improving the taste of the chicken. The practice is now illegal (since 1998 the Philippines have a law against animal cruelty), but locals keep doing it anyway.

Here is an interesting page about the ritual preparation of Pinikpikan: www.gobaguio.com/pinikpikan.html#.WTeROmjyvcs.

It was quite disturbing to see the chickens being literally tortured to death and agonizing in the fire.

I took those photos of this traditional chicken beating in the Central Market in Baguio.