On Wednesday, the nonprofit animal advocacy group, Compassion Over Killing (COK), released undercover video evidence of grisly abuse of chicks and ducklings at a California hatchery.
For nearly a month in 2009, a COK undercover investigator worked as a maintenance person at Cal-Cruz Hatcheries, Inc. in Santa Cruz. The miserable conditions and appalling cruelty documented include:
- A chick drowning in liquid excrement
- Birds entangled in machinery, their bodies mangled, decapitated or missing limbs
- Unwanted hatchlings dumped down an egg shell disposal chute, then sprayed with a high-pressure hose
- Birds thrown five to six feet across the room into buckets where they often languished for hours
Immediately upon completing the investigation, COK turned over the video evidence to the Santa Cruz County Animal Services Authority and the District Attorney's Office. A follow-up investigation by law enforcement corroborated COK's findings and resulted in the impoundment of 88 ducklings.
Forty of the impounded ducklings were too sick or injured to be stabilized and were euthanized. The remaining ducklings were transferred to Farm Sanctuary in Orland, CA for rehabilitation and to live out their natural lives in peace and safety.
The District Attorney's office held the hatchery abuse case for several months, but in late April of 2010, officially declined to prosecute the offenders.
Sadly, the cruelty documented during this investigation is not isolated. An MFA investigation at the world's largest egg-laying breed hatchery, released earlier last year, revealed shocking conditions - including the standard egg industry practice of dumping live male chicks into grinding machines.
Click here to read the entire story and view the undercover video and photos of rescued ducklings.
