Posted on 04/28/2022 11:33:18 AM PDT by nickcarraway
More than 27,000 chickens were boiled alive in a ventilation system malfunction, described by a judge as ‘a disaster’.
Hudson & Sanders, the firm managing the Leicestershire poultry farm, were fined £44,000 over the computer failure that happened nearly two years ago.
Leicester Magistrates’ Court heard there were 50,000 chickens at Hose Lodge Farm in Colston Bassett when the systems that regulated air flow failed.
As the temperature in the large barn rose rapidly, more than half of the animals died, while the ones that survived still suffered dramatically.
The birds could not cool down because of the ventilation failure, causing them heat stress, unnecessary suffering and death.
An alarm sounded when the temperature rose to 37°C, alerting staff, but it should have been set to go off 10°C lower, the court was told.
Leicestershire County Council prosecuted Hudson & Sanders for being negligent in its care of the birds, which were being farmed for their meat.
Trading standards also said the company had failed to ensure there were enough staff to look after the chickens and that they were not trained to the level they needed to be.
This meant those on shift did not know what to do at a time of such crisis.
Six months prior the incident, in November 2019, a vet from the Animal and Plant Health Agency had visited the farm, raising concerns about lack of staff and its ventilation plan.
Couple who won £115,000,000 have spent half of it in under two years
Gary Connors, from the county council, said: ‘This was an awful but thankfully rare incident in terms of the scale of unnecessary suffering.
‘However, we hope the level of fine prompts businesses operating in this sector to review their operations to ensure they have adequate staffing and procedures in place to avoid such a distressing incident happening again.’
The court heard Hudson & Sanders had no previous conviction for animal welfare offences and had an otherwise excellent reputation in the industry.
The firm pleaded guilty to four charges under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
ANOTHER food processing plant problem!
“An alarm sounded when the temperature rose to 37°C, alerting staff”
Not boiled alive, then. Overheated alive, it seems, but that’s not a very catchy headline.
Grab a bottle of barbeque sauce.
Worked in two poultry research farms and we always kept the air circulating. We didn’t need a computer for that. Birds get hot very fast and there was always someone on site during the day. This is what automation can bring you. Now about that self driving 18 wheeler.....
“unnecessary suffering”
I don’t suppose that includes the farm owner and his big economic losses, or the insurance company that covered the losses, or the consumers who paid a lot more for chicken. None of those count.
But those poor chickens who suffered! Somebody must pay for their suffering.
I always wonder about how words are defined.
Not even that. 37 Celsius is just under 99F. I oppose animal suffering as much as the next guy, about as much as I oppose sensational headlines that are flat out false
Just need to find someone who’s dough plant cooked up a bunch of dumplings, and have a feast.
Can you tell me what the purpose of this is?
To get rid of the male chicks.
“when the systems that regulated air flow failed. “
That system should proper fault detection and handling built in. For this fault blowing salt, pepper, and onion powder out into the air venting would have been the proper fall back corrective action...
chickens are people too.
Stupid headline.
Expensive way to learn that testing the generator on a weekly basis is a good idea.
Maybe broiled
Shouldn’t that be “baked”? Isn’t ‘boiled’ when the object is in water?
You beat me to it. But, I am glad I am not the only one who thought that.
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