In the early hours of the morning, whilst many Australians are fast asleep, the Action Animal Rescue Team from Melbourne, Victoria continues their work on behalf of Australia's battery hens. Rescue team members Yvette, Michael, Romeo and Pam hold rescued hens inside the Longford PURE FOOD battery hen shed, Tasmania, Australia on July 9, 2000. The seven member team accessed PURE FOODS INC.(Tasmania's largest battery hen producer) battery hen complex at Longford, near Launceston in the early hours. The activists gained access to all three sheds on the property (total of 45,000 hens), but the ammonia and noxious fumes were so overpowering they were only in one shed under an hour, and in the other two sheds only five minutes, due to burning eyes, sore throats and simply difficulty in breathing. Many hens were seen with blisters around their eyes. (a Government inspection - forced by all the media coverage the following day, confirmed the ammonia levels were at the "maximum allowable levels")The rescue team vows to continue it's break-in rescues until all the hens are free, and appeals to all other animal rights groups to do likewise.
The hens visited by the Team in the sheds of an undisclosed Victorian battery hen farm were ISA browns, who are known to be more docile in temperment, but they were unusally frenzied and distressed. (note the rescue team have rescued many other ISA hens from vaarious sheds
whereas these poor girls were extremely unsettled). The cages were slightly larger than normal, but we noticed quite alot of bruising, with many of the birds throwing themselves about. The debeaking was savage and the hens had abnormally long claws. All those rescued had to have their toenails trimmed so they could walk properly. This photo features badly debeaked battery hens bursting to get free!!! Please help them all you can.
Patty Mark holds a rescued hen with a crossed-over beak inside the Victorian battery hen shed south of Melbourne 4 days after a previous inspection and rescue (see last update July 21, 2000). Patty is wearing the Sydney Olympic Logo shirt which is thought by some to resemble a hen and is being used to highlight battery hen cruelty at the Olympic Games. Photo: Gloria Gamboz.
A close up of one of 50 bodies counted in shed when The Action Animal Rescue Team revisited the Victorian battery hen shed south of Melbourne (see last update July 21, 2000) four days later on Tuesday July 25, 2000.. many of the corpses were covered in mould and badly decomposed. One of the hens rescued was catatonic and died several hours later, she weighed under a kilogram (less than half her normal body weight). It is against the law to leave a sick animal unattended. We know this place has been reported to the RSPCA on several occasions over a long period and they have yet to investigate. (typical).
The Action Animal Rescue Team revisited the Victorian battery hen shed south of Melbourne (see last update July 21, 2000) four days later on Tuesday July 25, 2000. Four more hens were rescued, but the team were shocked on entering the shed to find 50 DEAD ROTTING BODIES laying in the aisles between the cages. Many of the bodies were badly decomposed, green with mold and disembowelled. A handwritten sign on the wall reading: Do not put bodies on floor, place directly in bags... was videotaped and photographed. This is a new shed with it's first batch of laying hens (we were told the birds have been in the shed for about 12 months, making them 'end of lay' battery hens.) It is disturbing to realise that the rescue team hardly noticed any dead birds on the Friday night (but we had only half an hour of light in the shed). It is extremely difficult to view birds in the bottom tier and basically impossible to view them on the top tier, yet obviously many of the hens had been dead for awhile. Many would have been ill, suffering great pain and would have starved to death. More proof that no matter how new or 'state of the art' they try to make the cages, they don't work!
Life Inside one of the huge sheds at the Victorian battery hen shed south of Melbourne on Tuesday July 25, 2000 visited by the Action Animal Rescue Team. This very ill and catatonic hen, was unable to move. She was rescued, but died several hours later.
When the Action Animal Rescue Team revisited the Victorian battery hen shed south of Melbourne on Tuesday July 25, 2000. All the cages have an electrified wire running underneath the feed trough that is used to 'train' the hens not to retrieve their eggs should they get broody or frustrated. Please notice in the photos that the roof of the cages is solid metal and the birds were UNABLE TO STAND AT FULL HEIGHT IN THE CAGE. The solid ceiling is to accomodate the conveyor belt that removes the hen's droppings from the shed. The top tier did have a wire mesh ceiling, but even here the hens weren't able to fit their heads up through it. Romeo Gadze touches the electrified wire that runs under the feed troughs. Note the low solid metal ceiling of cages.
The Action Animal Rescue Team rescued 8 badly debeaked battery hens suffering featherloss at an undisclosed Victorian battery egg factory on Friday July 21, 2000. (property still under surveillance). The rescue followed a tip-off of bad conditions and noxious fumes at the egg-laying factory near Melbourne. In this photo Michael examines hens in fairly new battery hen shed in Victoria Australia.
Michael holds an ill hen, badly debeaked and suffering featherloss and erythema. Relatively new work/cages on the large property belies the comments made by Hugh McMaster (head of the Australian Egg Industry Association) that the industry was anxious for the 'possible phase-out of battery cages in Australia' to be determined so the egg industry can forge ahead with future plans. (they are obviously forging ahead full speed with no intention of getting rid of cages) The new cages included the horrific electrified wire running under all feed troughs to shock the hens should they try to retrieve their eggs. The system was four tiers high, six birds per cage with conveyor belts removing the manure outside the shed. The hens were unable to stand at full height in the cages. (see photo above) The fumes were bad, but not as noxious as the previous week's rescue in Tasmania. Many hens were filmed and photographed suffering severe reddened/raw skin (erythema - see second photo) which possibly could be caused by the ammonia levels (?). The hens were all debeaked, many quite severely. One very emaciated hen suffered a large mucous-filled growth on the side of her face and was totally without a top beak.
The following photo was taken by Patty Mark in the Longford PURE FOOD battery hen shed,(Tasmania's largest battery hen producer) battery hen complex at Longford, near Launceston, Tasmania, Australia on July 9, 2000. It features a badly debeaked hen, as were ALL in the shed. The most distressing aspect of the rescue was the discovery that ALL hens in the sheds had severely mutilated beaks (what there was left of them!). Patty Mark commented, it was without doubt the worst debeaking she had ever witnessed during her years of undercover rescue. Five hens were rescued and taken to a vet, one was so debilitated she was fed intravenously by the vet. Another was totally underdeveloped, with absolutely NO upper beak, and a long and twisted lower beak, she is being taken to a specialist avian vet for treatment. The Team also visited the site of PURE FOODS barn-laid and free-range complex southwest of Hobart. (The barn-laid has RSPCA approval).
John the Vet expresses his sheer disgust at the birds condition. This was one of the fortunate hens rescued on Friday, February 25, 2000 the Action Animal Rescue Team visited NATURES DOZEN in Wallen, Victoria. (located approx 45 minutes north of Melbourne.) Note the gigantic manure balls stuck to the hen's claws. She was rescued from an enormous manure pit that was littered with dead and dying hens. The Team witnessed at least 30 live hens in the manure pit which was infested with some type of insect swarming like maggots throughout the manure.
NOW - Introducing VERONICA (rescued from the manure pits of Nature's Dozen, Wallen, Victoria. (located approx 45 minutes north of Melbourne.) On Friday, February 25, 2000 the Action Animal Rescue Team visited NATURES DOZEN and out came Veronica! Veronica must sit in a warm bath for an hour and then have the manure balls chisseled and cut off, it is very stressful and she nearly collapsed from stress. One claw is left hanging on by a thread, she will loose it.
Yvette nurses a badly debeaked hen with Michael in the background inside the Longford PURE FOOD battery hen shed, (Tasmania's largest battery hen producer) battery hen complex at Longford, near Launceston, Tasmania, Australia on July 9, 2000.
Veronica (rescued by The Action Animal Rescue Team from the manure pits of Nature's Dozen, Wallen, Victoria. (located approx 45 minutes north of Melbourne.) has survived her ordeal and is sunbaking the next day, but still holding the leg up in pain. Her prognosis is guarded.
On Friday, February 25, 2000 the Action Animal Rescue Team visited NATURES DOZEN in Wallen, Victoria. (located approx 45 minutes north of Melbourne.) Following an inside tip-off the team found appalling conditions and consistent overstocking throughout the two sheds they accessed. The first shed had hens stacked six tiers high over an enormous manure pit that was littered with dead and dying hens. We witnessed at least 30 live hens in the manure pit which was infested with some type of insect swarming like maggots throughout the manure. Feral cats were filmed in the shed. We were able to rescue two hens from the manure pit, one too weak to stand (later euthansed by a vet), the other (pictured) was heavily bound by blue plastic twine embedded in her claws. Each claw had gathered a manure ball the size of tennis balls which were rock hard.(the gross manure-ball weight on this birds leg was 500 grams - approximately a third of her body weight!)(when hens are trapped in manure pits they often get these manure balls on their claws and they must be soaked for up to an hour and chisseled off). Following this inspection and rescue, an immediate appeal was put to the RSPCA to inspect and prosecute this property which is so blatantly breaking the law. Richard Hunter, RSPCA CEO has assured Patty Mark and the Team that it will be done asap. They are awaiting the results.
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Animal Liberation Victoria
394 Russell Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia.
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