030128 USDA Blasted for Cruelty in Killing Chickens

Sacramento, CA - The following release was issued by the Humane Farming Association:

The Humane Farming Association (HFA) strongly urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to use more humane methods to kill the millions of chickens and other birds whose southern California flocks have become infected with Exotic Newcastle Disease. In a letter to USDA Secretary Ann Veneman, HFA Outreach Director Dena Jones informed the agency that cruelty was neither necessary nor appropriate in eradicating animal disease. The letter also criticized the Department for its actions during a similar poultry depopulation program conducted last summer in Virginia.

More than one million birds have been ordered killed in an attempt to control an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease (END) in southern California. END is a highly contagious and fatal viral disease with a death rate of nearly 100% of infected flocks. The mass chicken euthanasia program is being conducted as a joint project of the USDA and the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

State and federal officials have indicated that California birds infected with END are being killed by carbon monoxide gas or barbiturate injection. Lethal barbiturate injection is considered by animal protection advocates to be the most humane method of euthanasia. While the American Veterinary Medical Association deems carbon monoxide gas to be an acceptable euthanasia agent, it is subject to misuse and must be properly administered. Concerns regarding administration of the gas prompted the California Legislature in 1998 to prohibit the killing of any animal by carbon monoxide.

An HFA investigation revealed that during a mass turkey and chicken destruction program conducted by the USDA last summer in Virginia, cruel and inhumane methods were utilized in killing the birds. These methods included:

-- Bludgeoning turkeys to death with baseball bats, ax handles, sticks, and broom handles.

-- Breaking the necks and cutting the throats of chickens by personnel untrained and/or inexperienced in the procedures.

-- Placing chickens in plastic bags attached to vehicle exhaust pipes.

-- Cramming birds into gassing cages, leading to severe overcrowding and inadequate gas distribution.

-- Inadequately sealing the gassing compartments, resulting in a prolonged time to loss of consciousness.

-- Pumping gas directly on the bodies of some birds, causing painful burns.

"The American public would be appalled to see the abusive treatment of animals conducted under the auspices of the USDA," said Dena Jones of the Humane Farming Association. "We call for an immediate end to behavior that if conducted by private citizens would surely qualify as criminal animal cruelty."

With 170,000 members, HFA is the largest nonprofit organization in the U.S. dedicated to the protection of farm animals. The organization campaigns against factory farming and for strong enforcement of humane slaughter laws. HFA also operates the world's largest sanctuary for neglected and mistreated farm animals.

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