 December 2002 - March 2003 Ohio, USA
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Nearly fifteen months after uncovering unspeakable cruelty at Ohio’s largest egg factory farms, Mercy For Animals investigators have again gone undercover behind closed doors to shed light on the inherent cruelties of battery cage facilities. The investigation began in December, 2002 after Weaver Brothers Egg Farm, located in Versailles, Ohio, failed to respond to a certified letter requesting a tour and expressing concern over the farm's treatment of hens. Following stringent industry-guideline biosecurity measures, and armed with video and photo equipment, MFA investigators made nighttime visits to the factory documenting case after case of animal neglect and abuse.
The numerous acts of animal cruelty documented by MFA in videos and photographs include:
- Hens with broken, damaged, and faeces-covered feathers packed into tiny wire cages so small they could not even spread their wings.
- Diseased hens suffering from huge, untreated growths and infections.
- Hens trapped in the wire of their cages, left without access to food or water.
- Corpses left to rot in cages with hens still producing eggs for human consumption.
- A live hen thrown away in a trash can, left to die amidst decomposing carcasses. MFA investigators rescued the hen, now named Hope, and took her to a veterinarian for treatment.
The cruelty documented at Weaver Brothers is, to the shock of many consumers, standard egg industry practice. In just the past two years, seven investigations at egg farms in Ohio, Maryland, Minnesota, and New Jersey have all uncovered similar abuses. More information, videos and photos are available at the Mercy for Animals website.
Click on any photo for larger version
MFA investigator nathan runkle rescues a sick hen
probably due to abrasion against the wire of their cage, these hens suffer missing and damaged feathers. their bodies are caked with feces
a sick hen suffering from an untreated abscess
this hen suffers from an untreated sinus infection. with no access to veterinary care, her condition will only worsen
a hen afflicted with an untreated abscess. like all hens confined to the battery cage, she will receive no medical attention
swarming with flies, MFA investigators discovered this corpse left to rot on the egg collection belt
a dead hen left to rot and decompose in her cage. this hen is severely decomposed, creating a breeding ground for disease
this dead hen’s body was discovered ripped open, perhaps by rodents
a shopping cart filled with rotting corpses discovered at weaver bros. egg farm. a trail of blood follows
Trash bin filled to the brim with rotting corpses
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