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France's dying cockerel given fighting chance of survival
The Telegraph ^ | 08/11/2004 | Henry Samuel

Posted on 11/07/2004 6:53:52 PM PST by ijcr

Scientists have taken action to save France's feathered national emblem, le coq gaulois, by cryogenically preserving the endangered cockerel's sperm.

Panic set in when it was disclosed that only 200 individuals remained, mostly owned by amateur breeders.

The brightly coloured cockerel, one of France's oldest native animal species, is synonymous with French fighting spirit – at times arrogance – and is famously unleashed on to the football pitch before games involving the national side. Due to a semantic crossover, the Latin word gallus means both cockerel and Gaul and it has come to stand as a symbol of France's distant ancestors.

Scientists at the national agronomic research institute, Inra, have spent two years on a bird hunt for the last surviving individuals from the dying breed.

They concluded that the safest way to avert its extinction was to create a "brave new bird world" by preserving the cockerel's genetic heritage using the latest cryogenic technology.

"We took their eggs, vaccinated them, then brought up the chicks," said Elisabeth Blesbois, a scientist at Inra.

"Then we removed their sperm and froze it at minus 196 degrees," she added.

"We can now reconstitute the bird line if it encounters problems, such as an epidemic. By successive cross-breeding with regular hens, we can bring the race back from the brink in just a few years."

Now that the cryogenic techniques have improved, the scientists intend to preserve specimens of all endangered species this way.

Beside its symbolic qualities, the French cockerel is sought after for its brilliant red and gold plumage. But connoisseurs say its taste is disappointing.


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: chicken; cowards; dirty; effete; france; nationalemlem; nazicollaborators; prissy; smelly; surrender; unbathed; vichy
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Oh Dieu! The French Coq does not taste like chicken.
1 posted on 11/07/2004 6:53:53 PM PST by ijcr
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To: ijcr

I say we Kentucky fry them all.


2 posted on 11/07/2004 6:57:15 PM PST by Natural Law
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To: ijcr

Whew! When I saw the headline I thought this was a post about arafat!


3 posted on 11/07/2004 6:57:29 PM PST by Fred Nerks (Understand Evil: Read THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD free pdf. See FRED NERKS for link)
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To: ijcr
Beside its symbolic qualities, the French cockerel is sought after for its brilliant red and gold plumage. But connoisseurs say its taste is disappointing.

Just like a certain Frenchlike Senator. Leave it to the French to pick a loser that looks good.

4 posted on 11/07/2004 6:57:55 PM PST by TADSLOS (Right Wing Infidel since 1954)
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To: ijcr

"French fighting spirit"

Hahahahahahahahaha....


5 posted on 11/07/2004 6:58:00 PM PST by MisterRepublican ("I must go. I must be elusive.")
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To: ijcr
The brightly coloured cockerel, one of France's oldest native animal species, is synonymous with French fighting spirit...

No wonder the bird is endangered. The French surrender too much!

6 posted on 11/07/2004 6:58:32 PM PST by clee1 (Islam is a deadly plague; liberalism is the AIDS virus that prevents us from defending ourselves.)
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To: ijcr
Maybe the Muslims will likewise freeze a couple Frenchmen when they take over.

Hahaha...
7 posted on 11/07/2004 6:58:57 PM PST by RJL
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To: Fred Nerks
Whew! When I saw the headline I thought this was a post about arafat!

LOL! Same here.
8 posted on 11/07/2004 6:58:58 PM PST by Jaysun (How many votes did that HUGE A$$ Medicare bill buy us?)
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To: ijcr

I thought the French national animal WAS a chicken. Hmmm will wonders never cease.


9 posted on 11/07/2004 6:59:00 PM PST by infidel29 (America is GREAT because she is GOOD, the moment she ceases to be GOOD, she ceases to be GREAT- B.F.)
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To: ijcr
The brightly coloured cockerel...is synonymous with French fighting spirit

Well, hell, that died out centuries ago - amazing the damn bird's hung on this long...

10 posted on 11/07/2004 6:59:07 PM PST by general_re (Drive offensively - the life you save may be your own.)
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To: ijcr

Does it come with a white flag?


11 posted on 11/07/2004 7:00:00 PM PST by SnuffaBolshevik
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To: MisterRepublican

The taste of French Cockerel is disappointing...........
Try bathing first.


12 posted on 11/07/2004 7:00:04 PM PST by AirForceMom
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To: ijcr

The French national bird is a chicken????


13 posted on 11/07/2004 7:00:05 PM PST by Tribune7
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To: ijcr

Leave it to the French to have a CHICKEN for a national symbol.


14 posted on 11/07/2004 7:00:20 PM PST by woofer (Michael Moore, who's your daddy now?)
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To: ijcr

Sacre Bleu - no more coqs!

15 posted on 11/07/2004 7:01:03 PM PST by corkoman (Logged in - have you?)
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To: woofer

A chicken that is dying out.


16 posted on 11/07/2004 7:01:55 PM PST by CWOJackson
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To: ijcr

This chicken is not a species, but a breed or variety. It is much easier just to breed some of them than to do this frozen-sperm trick, which still requires a whole breeding program later to try (approximately) to recover the breed.

Perhaps this is symbolic of today's France that no one worried about this national symbol until now. No one cares for a symbol which is no longer appropriate.

Of course, the cockerel is a roster, a male chicken of this special breed. I bet some of you out there are thinking, "chicken, how appropriate." But it was a brave symbol, let us grant that to the France of the past, the past before the Revolution.

I suggest that today a better French symbol is not the frog, not even the snail, but the SLUG.


17 posted on 11/07/2004 7:05:42 PM PST by docbnj
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To: ijcr

It's synonymous with the French fighting spirit, and almost extinct.

Yep.


18 posted on 11/07/2004 7:07:03 PM PST by syberghost
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To: ijcr

And here I thought this thread was about the buzzard, Arafat.


19 posted on 11/07/2004 7:08:20 PM PST by bikepacker67 ("This is the best election night in history." -- DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe 11/2/04 8pm)
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To: ijcr

Thats no coq, it's a capon.

Just like every other french "male".


20 posted on 11/07/2004 7:12:02 PM PST by Dr.Zoidberg (What!? My mother was a saint!!! Get out!)
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