A citizen who is capable of feeding himself is obviously a danger to the state. The government in Brussels has ruled that Belgians who want to eat poultry will have to buy roast chicken instead of killing and plucking their own animals. Poultry may only be slaughtered in official abattoirs or by licensed butchers. This week, as the summer vacation commences, the Federal Bureau of Health wrote a letter to the Federation of Boy and Girl Scouts and other youth groups warning them that it is forbidden to kill chickens during their holiday camps. “According to the Animal Welfare Bill animals may only be slaughtered by experienced people or, except in case of necessity or circumstances beyond one’s control, after preliminary anaesthesia. It is obvious that children do not qualify,” the letter says. People who kill a chicken without government approval, risk a fine of 1,000 euros. One can buy a lot of fried chicken for that.