By Michelle van der Spuy
After the director of Daybreak Foods indicated last week that the company could not buy feed for its chickens due to its financial collapse, the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) intervened and saved more than 500 000 chickens from starvation. However, more than 350 000 had to be culled.
After receiving complaints about neglected chickens, the NSPCA went to investigate on 30 April at the farms of Daybreak Foods, which are fully owned by the Public Investment Corporation. The farms are located near Delmas in Mpumalanga.
They came across thousands of starving chickens that hadn’t been fed in days. Some were in terrible condition while others were so starved they were chasing each other and nibbling at each other’s open wounds.
According to the NSPCA, this was not the first time it had had to intervene at Daybreak Foods. A similar incident of neglect was also found on the company’s farms in February this year.
Daybreak Foods gave the NSPCA permission to cull some of the chickens. Around 200 000 chickens were culled over two days.
Daybreak Foods notified the NSPCA on 1 May that due to its financial constraints, it simply could not continue to supply feed to the chickens and that the association had to cull all the chickens.
Daybreak Foods reportedly initially tried to have the chickens slaughtered in its abattoir. However, the Office of Veterinary Public Health put a stop to this because the chickens were slaughtered by age, but not by weight. Some of the chickens weighed less than 700g and were simply too small for the slaughtering equipment to handle.
The NSPCA and SPCA branches in Gauteng assembled a team of over 75 staff and volunteers and over 350 000 chickens were culled. The last chickens were culled on 5 May. More than 500 000 chickens could be rescued and were taken to other farms.
According to the NSPCA, the team encountered gruesome scenes during the process. “The deaths on each farm are a shocking indication of how long the chickens were left without feed. The staff were not paid, the stench was unbearable and there were thousands of dead chickens that had not been removed from the cages.”
Nazareth Appalsamy, a senior inspector with the NSPCA, says it was one of the most emotionally and physically draining operations the team has ever been involved in. “We weren’t there to save lives. We were there to end suffering. And it breaks every one of us.”
The NSPCA has already indicated that it intends to file a case of animal neglect and abuse against the director of Daybreak Foods. African Farming is still awaiting confirmation that this has been done. African Farming is also still awaiting comment from Daybreak Foods on the incident.
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