| An overwhelming public and organizational
protest has ensued against the San Diego County District Attorney’s
decision, announced on April 10, not to prosecute the owners of
the Ward Egg Ranch, whose workers threw 30,000 hens into wood-chipping
machinery in February. When County Animal Services investigators
told the workers to stop, they said the workers continued to throw
the live hens into the machinery, and company owners Arie and Bill
Wilgenburg said they were acting on the advice of a veterinarian
from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
According to The San Diego Union-Tribune (4/16), Deputy
District Attorney Elisabeth Silva said, in defense of her decision
not to prosecute the company: “Across the country, this is
just one of the ways they [the poultry and egg industry] do it [mass-kill
unwanted birds].” She said, “it’s cruel and it’s
callous, but it’s part of any animal husbandry operation.”
United Poultry Concerns confirmed today, however, that San Diego
District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis is holding a briefing with Deputy
District Attorney Elisabeth Silva and other government officials
involved in this case to evaluate the information they have, as
well as the legal aspects of the case.
United Poultry Concerns, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals,
and The Humane Society of the United States wrote to the District
Attorney and the Deputy District Attorney urging prosecution of
the owners of the Ward Egg Ranch and, following the decision not
to prosecute, urging prosecution of all responsible individuals,
especially of the veterinarian who told the company to throw the
live hens into the machinery.
We hope to report that our request that everyone who was responsible
for this act of merciless cruelty towards these defenseless hens
will be charged with cruelty to animals. Grinding up live adult
animals – feeding them into a funnel-shaped opening to be
cut by blades into small pieces -- is not a recommended or permissible
method of “euthanasia” under any code in the United
States, including the 2000 AVMA Panel on Euthanasia Report, which
states: “When animals must be euthanized, either as individuals
or in larger groups, moral and ethical concerns dictate that humane
practices be observed.”
United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes
the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl. http://www.upc-online.org
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United Poultry Concerns, Inc.