United Poultry Concerns April 11 , 2003

San Diego DA Won't Prosecute Company That Threw 30,000 Hens Into Wood-Chipping Machines

San Diego County investigated the Ward Egg Ranch, whose workers said their arms got tired "from breaking the chickens' necks, so they threw them into the machinery." USDA veterinary consultant Gregg Cutler, who
sits on the Animal Welfare Committee of the AVMA, reportedly told the ranch the wood chipper was "painless" (San Diego Union-Tribune, 2/22). Though County Animal Services Lt. Mary Kay Gagliardo said "It's clearly animal cruelty" (North County Times, 2/28), the DA's Office announced today that the company "did not commit any crime because a veterinarian from the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave them permission to use wood chippers to destroy the birds" (San Diego Union Tribune, 4/11).

UPC had urged the District Attorney to prosecute the company and wrote to the AVMA concerning Cutler's advice to use wood-chippers. The AVMA wrote back: "Dr. Cutler informed us that he never recommended using a wood chipper."

United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl: http://www.UPC-online.org


United Poultry Concerns, Inc.
PO Box 150
Machipongo, VA 23405-0150
757-678-7875
FAX: 757-678-5070
www.upc-online.org

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