By Maile Matsimela
The National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) says it urgently intervened in poultry farming operations run by Daybreak Foods near Delmas, Mpumalanga, following reports of severe animal suffering.
It was reported that thousands of chickens were found without access to feed, and some had resorted to cannibalism in a desperate attempt to survive.
NSPCA stated that this is not an isolated incident; in February 2025, similar findings were made at other Daybreak Foods facilities in the same region, raising serious concerns about systemic and ongoing neglect.
The animal welfare organisation says the situation seems to arise from significant financial instability at Daybreak Foods, reportedly associated with funding limitations. Consequently, the company has allegedly been unable to secure enough feed for its chickens.
“After an instruction from the Veterinary Public Health (VPH) office, the most recent crisis emerged after the company’s abattoir was prohibited from slaughtering hundreds of thousands of birds that had reached slaughter age but not slaughter weight. This left the company with overcrowded poultry houses, no market for the birds, and no resources to feed them. The average weight for chickens of this age should be around 1.8 kilograms, whereas these birds, on average, weighed only 660 grams,” reports NSPCA.
The animal welfare organisation said their inspectors were confronted with horrifying scenes of chickens running around frantically with visible injuries, including protruding intestines, while others fed on the open wounds of their pen-mates. In some cases, says NSPCA, cannibalism had progressed to the point where birds’ wings were entirely consumed.
The NSPCA says more than 5 500 chickens had to be humanely euthanised due to the severity of their injuries and suffering. “For the last five days, two sites have seen mortality rates of over 25 000 birds across two sites, while the NSPCA remains on-site to monitor the remainder of the sites.”
The SPCA says that staff on-site confirmed they were powerless to intervene, as they rely entirely on Daybreak’s central management for feed supply. According to NSPCA, several workers expressed gratitude for the NSPCA’s presence and stated frankly that “this problem is not going to go away.”
The NSPCA remained on-site until feed was eventually delivered, after some poultry houses had reportedly gone without feed for over 48 hours.
The NSPCA states that it will initiate criminal charges under the Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962 against the Board of Directors of Daybreak Foods, who are legally responsible for the welfare of the animals in their care—one of whom has previously held a leadership position within the South African Poultry Association.
We extend our gratitude to the Benoni, Brakpan, Kempton Park, Randburg, and Springs SPCAs for their assistance in attending to these animals over the past weekend.
The NSPCA unequivocally condemned farming systems and practices that result in pain, suffering, distress, or harm. “What has transpired at Daybreak Foods is not farming – it is neglect, plain and simple. The NSPCA remains on-site.”
Daybreak Foods informed African Farming that it acknowledges the recent intervention by the NSPCA at its poultry farming operations near Delmas, Mpumalanga.
Corporate Affairs Specialist at Daybreak, Nokwazi Ngcongo, told African Farming that they take issues of animal cruelty seriously and have strict policies in place to ensure the humane treatment of the birds.
“Regrettably, we confirm that the birds did go without feed for a period due to financial challenges affecting feed delivery. The cannibalism, which resulted from the feed shortages, was seen in some birds, and they were culled,” she said. Ngcongo added that the dead birds observed outside chicken houses were part of their daily mortality collection process.
One of our farms experienced a power outage due to Eskom supply issues and the standby generator’s failure to engage on time, which affected the birds.
In close collaboration with the NSPCA, efforts have been made to limit animal suffering as much as possible. As part of our commitment to improvement, we are taking immediate action to address these issues, prioritising animal welfare, transparency, and accountability,” explains Ngcongo.
She emphasised that the company is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for its birds and will collaborate with relevant authorities and stakeholders to ensure the highest standards of animal care and regain the trust of stakeholders.
“We would like to clarify that there were no large-scale deaths of day-old chicks due to cold exposure as reported. We appreciate the ongoing support of our stakeholders as we work to rectify these issues and improve our operations,” Ngcongo concluded.
More to read:
