PETA urges Oxford English Dictionary to remove chicken cowardice definition

Animal rights campaign group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, known as PETA, has written to the Oxford English Dictionary to ask for the removal of the definition of chicken that means a cowardly or faint-hearted person. The Daily Mail reported that the organization sent a letter to chief editor Michael Proffitt regarding the entry. [1]

According to the Daily Mail, PETA claims that using the word chicken to describe human cowardice is inaccurate, unfair, and damaging to the reputation of the birds. The group argues that linking chickens to human weakness encourages speciesism, which is the belief that animals are inferior to human beings. [1]

The request aims to stop the use of the bird's name as an insult. The Daily Mail reported that animal rights activists want the slang definition removed from future dictionary updates. [1]