October 30, 2014
Jill R. Ravitch
Sonoma County District Attorney
600 Administration Drive, Room 212 J
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Dear Ms. Ravitch,
I’m writing you today to urge you to prosecute the owners of Reichardt Duck Farm for cruelty to animals. The blatant animal cruelty captured on video
at Reichardt Duck Farm in Sonoma County, California by Mercy For Animals is unacceptable. In the video, you can clearly see ducks with severe injuries,
open wounds, baby ducklings having the ends of their bills seared off, ducks with their wings, bills and other body parts stuck in the wire mesh flooring,
and birds trapped in manure pits below the floor. Workers are shown callously throwing, dropping, and roughly handling ducks and ducklings by their heads
and wings. There is even documentation of several workers wringing ducks’ necks by holding their heads and violently swinging their bodies in a
circular motion.
Waterfowl need water to swim and bathe in; however, these birds are denied this basic necessity. Lack of water causes serious health problems for ducks
including painful skin irritation, heat stress and eye infections. As ducks spend most of their time swimming in water, their legs are not strong enough to
support their weight when forced to stand for hours on end. These birds are clearly suffering with joint and leg deformities from constant standing.
Just the fact that these ducks live inside a dark, filthy shed and never see the sun or enjoy swimming in a pond is cruel enough, but to blatantly treat
ducks with such disregard for their suffering is inexcusable and illegal. Sonoma County should hold a high standard for the treatment of animals raised for
food; this video does not reflect the standard Sonoma County should hold. I urge you please to prosecute the owners of Reichardt Duck Farm for cruelty to
animals.
Thank you for your attention. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Hope Bohanec
Projects Manager, UPC
hope@upc-online.org
707-540-1760
United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl. Federal ID: 52-1705678
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