Poultry farm under investigation for abuse

Local residents discovered that dozens of supposedly dead hens were being buried alive and with great suffering.

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
A poultry farm in Ramot Hashavim, next to Hod Hasharon, has been temporarily closed down and an official investigation has been launched after local residents discovered that dozens of supposedly dead hens were being buried alive and with great suffering, reports the Hebrew weekly Yediot Hasharon. The hens, which had reached the end of their egg-laying abilities, were supposed to have been humanely electrocuted, but because of a technical problem in the electrical circuits, many were left alive and injured, and were dumped in a mass grave with hundreds of other dead and dying chickens. According to the report, the case came to light when a few hens managed to escape the gravesite and local residents discovered it. The Let the Animals Live organization sent an ambulance to the site, which rescued 20 hens. A spokesman said many of the hens had broken bones and had been left to die slowly and in great pain in what was a case of "shocking abuse." The South Sharon District Council veterinarian ordered the closure of the farm and said the faults would need to be rectified before it could re-open. Police also began an official investigation into alleged animal abuse. An Agriculture Ministry spokesman said the electrocution machine was considered humane because it caused death within seconds and could be used on-site, eliminating the need to upset the chickens by transporting them elsewhere. But in this case a "technical problem" had caused it to fail. The spokesman said the problem had already been solved but the ministry was considering how to improve the machine's functioning to prevent any recurrence of such problems in the future.