British rule over Palestine went hand in hand with various attempts to alter Palestine’s environment, both by the British government and the Zionist movement: planting trees, draining swamps, curtailing nomadic practices, or building infrastructure influenced the Palestinian landscape and the socio-economic practice of its inhabitants. British officials and Zionist settlers also took an active role in developing agriculture. British efforts focused on supporting Arab Palestinian villagers whose practices were seen in need of modernization while Zionist efforts focused on increasing the productivity of their own agricultural settlements. One branch of agriculture that played a role for both groups was poultry farming.
In Palestine, poultry farming slowly developed into an independent science and integral part of the mixed farm model adopted by settlers. The changing technology involved in poultry farming impacted its socio-economic make-up, making it a more large-scale and place-bound practice. British involvement in poultry breeding aimed at controlling certain introduced animals’ spread at the expense of local chicken breeds. Combined Zionist and British practices changed poultry’s place within the newly composed population of Palestine, thereby influencing animal species, the productivity of the landscape, and human dietary regimes. This paper will trace the transfer of knowledge, technology, and animal breeds from Europe (Britain and Germany) and their impact in Palestine.