VERONICA Rescued From Pit of Despair by Patty Mark, Photos: byPatty Mark
We found sweet Veronica in one of three chicken factory farms that our Action Animal Rescue Team infiltrated in our determination to get as much information as possible on the hideous living conditions of chickens raised for meat and eggs. We found appalling conditions throughout the two sheds that we were able to access at this facility.

The first shed had birds in cages stacked six tiers high over an enormous manure pit that was littered with dead and dying chickens. We filmed feral cats in there, too. We witnessed live chickens in the manure, which was swarming with maggots. Chickens who fall into manure pits are neither fed nor rescued. We were able to rescue two of the birds, one too sick to stand. Later, a vet euthanized her. The other, whom we named Veronica, had a rock-hard hunk of manure the size of a tennis ball on each claw. This commonly happens to the birds who fall into the manure pits. The weight of the disgusting manure balls on her legs was 500 grams—about a third of Veronica’s body weight! We had to soak the encrusted feces for an hour before we could chisel it off.

In one aisle alone, we removed seven rotting corpses. They had been there for weeks—one came out in five pieces. The stench was overpowering; we often had to leave an aisle to regain our composure before continuing. All five of us were queasy from the smell and atmosphere. Almost every chicken was severely debeaked. We were able to rescue five birds, some of whom were debilitated, anemic, and blind.

TORNADO HITS CHICKEN FARM Photos© Mercy for Animals A tornado ripped through Buckeye Egg Farm in Croton, Ohio, damaging 12 barns and burying approximately a million hens beneath the rubble. Thousands of hens were crushed. Some died immediately. Others lived on for days. Many others died slowly of dehydration. Most of the birds were trapped in cages underneath fallen roofs, and no one could get to them. Said one man on the scene, “The hens’ cries for help, clucks and peeps both loud and faint, were coming from everywhere, including the nine barns too dangerous for rescuers even to enter. One little hen was looking straight up into my eyes, peeping, and there was no way to get to her. It tore my heart out.” PETA pleaded with the governor and authorities for help and donated funds toward the rescue efforts. In the end, approximately 20,000 birds were rescued and adopted. Tragically, those who couldn’t be reached were simply bulldozed like so much garbage. Wrote PETA’s Carla Bennett, in an essay about the disaster, “Buckeye Eggs is owned by Anton Pohlman, who was convicted in Germany of cruelty to animals, fined $2 million, and banned from raising chickens in that country. So Pohlman brought his operation to the United States, where he, Frank Perdue, and other poultry and egg producers are richly rewarded for animal torture.” Because of consumer demand for chicken flesh and eggs, life on chicken and egg factory farms under even normal conditions is hell. The birds are so packed together in cages, they cannot move. Their beaks are severed stubs. Their wings atrophy, their legs shrivel, and their toes often grow around the wire cage bottoms. These poor little beings exist solely as flesh- and egg-production machines. Yet their feelings and capacity for suffering are as great as those of any dog or cat.

You Did It! ANIMAL TIMES® READERS ARE HELPING THE ANIMALS Jeanne Daniels is the owner of Tarrytown, a one-of-a-kind shopping center in Austin, Texas. Jeanne’s goal is a cruelty-free shopping center where customers can rest assured that no goods or services offered derive from animal exploitation or abuse. That’s why the only new tenants that Jeanne accepts do not sell animals, flesh, or skins. Jeanne has also opened an adoption site in Tarrytown, in cooperation with her local animal shelter. PETA Stars to Light Up the Big Apple PETA’s 21st Anniversary and Humanitarian Awards Party, on September 8, 2001, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City Celebrity supporters, sumptuous cuisine, music and dancing. Come, help us raise funds for PETA! Individual tickets go on sale July 27. For individual sponsorship: Call Allison Smith at 757-622-7382, extension 356. For corporate sponsorship: Call Jill Bacchieri-Jones at 818-345-4932. For more details: www.petaparty.org