14 Month Chicken Industry Investigation January 2004 - March 2005 Victoria, Australia

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Rescue Reports

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Rescue 14: Parkhurst Farm (Shed 1): 1 bird removed
august 15, 2004

Forty-eight hours after rescue 13, knowing there were countless crippled birds in the shed and that Parkhurst Farms was neglecting to abide by the Code of Practice for the Transport of Poultry by removing all sick and injured birds from the shed prior to transport, we decided to blockade the depopulation.

Upon arrival at 10:00 pm eight rescue team members went unnoticed for half an hour at one end of the shed (the transportation truck, manager and ‘catchers’ were at the other end and doors at both ends of the shed were open). We were able to briefly film inside the doors at our end of the shed for five minutes when we found a bird who was lying on her back. She was very distressed, debilitated and dehydrated. We gave her water and brought her out with us. This bird should have been removed prior to the transportation truck arriving and it was our belief that had we more time to do a proper inspection we would have found more.

We witnessed piles of dead rotting bodies stacked up outside the doors to the sheds, this is in violation of the Parkhurst Farm’s EMP. The ground around the sheds was wet and muddy.

We read the relevant violated sections of the Code of Practice Transport Rules to the manager and explained what we had witnessed in the shed. We told him we were there to block the depopulation while the shed contained sick and injured birds. He refused to talk to us and rang the owner. We then rang the police for assistance. When the owner and police arrived we informed them of the problems. Con Kyriazis the owner of Parkhurst Farms was extremely angry and abusive. The police had to restrain him.

During the three-hour standoff we persistently appealed to the police to take action for the birds and to do an inspection. The police eventually sided with the “company conducting its legal business” and arrested four of the rescue team members. They took us to the Werribee Police Station where we were interviewed and charged with trespass.

Click on any photo for larger version (photos: noah hannibal / ALV)

this bird was lying on her back and unable to stand, she was extremely dehydrated

pile of corpses outside one of the shed doors.

parkhurst owner con kyriazis became increasingly angry and abusive after the rescue team called the police to stop the illegal depopulation

con before being restrained by police

parkhurst broiler farm owner con kyriazis

more photos: photo gallery