1,000 Chickens That Survived Hurricane Will Escape Frying Pan

[matcom]

<snip>

Hurricane Katrina left behind a still untold death toll, but it apparently spared the lives of some 1,000 lucky chickens.

Now, instead of meeting their fate in a Mississippi slaughterhouse, the birds are on their way to the Bay Area and other parts of the United States where they will live out the rest of their lives in sanctuaries and backyards.

"Some folks say, 'Why save chickens when there are people and dogs and cats to save?' '' says the birds' savior, Vacaville resident Kim Sturla, who traveled to Mississippi to rescue the chickens after learning about their plight on television.

"I'm looking at it from the perspective of their lives,'' she said. "The life of the chicken is as important to him as the life of the dog or cat is to them."

Sturla, who runs an animal sanctuary in Vacaville, said she wasn't alone in her mission. She was joined by several employees from the Humane Society of the United States and an animal sanctuary volunteer from New York.

The group rescued the chickens from a badly damaged Mississippi poultry farm last weekend. The birds had been housed in a shed that was torn apart in the storm, and the owner, who contracts with Tyson Foods, had no place to put them.

At first, Sturla's group had trouble finding the "broiler'' farm. They asked U.S. Department of Agriculture workers. They asked other farmers and even grocery store employees if they knew where they might find the badly damaged farm where they might be able to save a few chickens.

"I'm sure it was a strange request, but no one made light of it,'' said Sturla. "There was no rudeness. They didn't mock us. They just said you came out from California to do what?"

When they finally found the farm, there was more death to be found than life, she said.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/13/BAGP6EMQ951.DTL

[DS1]

1. Only because pre-tenderized meat never tastes good

:hide:

[texas1928]

2. Don't forget the corn flakes.

:hide:

[flvegan]

3. Wow.

I expected a slew of tasteless, idiotic responses to this, so color me impressed.

This is a shot of folks pulling live chickens out of a mass grave where thousands of rotting bodies were dumped.

Animals starving to death, bulldozed into a big hole to die...

More from Farm Sanctuary (who took 725 of them):
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/adopt/rescue_hurricane.htm

[Hell Hath No Fury]

4. That is soooo cool!

I had seen hurricane footage of a chicken factory of some sort that had been destroyed -- I wonder if it was the same one. At the time I had hoped that someone would step up and help them out.

Vacaville seems to be putting out some great gals -- first Cindy Sheehan and now Kim Sturla. Go Vacaville!

[RebelOne]

5. Farm Sanctuary has 725 of the chickens

At 8:00 a.m. this morning, Farm Sanctuary rescuers arrived at our New York Shelter with 725 chickens saved from a farm ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in rural Mississippi. At this broiler chicken facility, which is under contract with Tyson Foods, a tornado spawned by the hurricane completely destroyed one warehouse shed and severely damaged two others. The chickens, like millions of farm animals across the South following the disaster, had been left to die or be bulldozed into mass graves.

Farm Sanctuary caregivers are providing the chickens urgent care at our hospital facilities, as many are in critical condition. All 725 are being individually checked for injuries and other urgent care needs. This morning’s checks have revealed broken toes, severe gangrene in the feet, extreme dehydration and lack of nutrition. Many of the birds have not had access to food or water for days since the hurricane, leaving them weak and lifeless. One bird’s eyes are swollen shut from trauma to the head, another has a large head wound, and two are suffering from seizures and clinging to life. Caregivers are administering IV fluids, shots of Banamine (a pain killer) and Dexamethasone (a steroid) and heating pads to revive them.


Farm Sanctuary is still on the ground in Mississippi continuing search and rescue efforts this week to save additional farm animals including pigs and goats reportedly displaced. We are in need of donations immediately to help save these 725 chickens and to fund our ongoing rescue efforts in the South.

[Taverner]

6. Hey - why dont they try this

FEED the chickens to the thousands without food or water???

This is sick in my opinion...