B.C. SPCA investigating new case of chicken abuse

The B.C. SPCA is investigating yet another case of alleged chicken abuse.

The latest probe was launched after a concerned citizen in Abbotsford filmed footage of a chicken farm, according to a media release from Animal Justice, a legal advocacy group for animal welfare cases.

On June 28, a woman was walking her dog on a public street early in the morning when she passed a chicken farm and spotted workers picking up chickens upside down and allegedly throwing them into crates and jamming them shut while they were still protruding.

The footage filmed by the passerby has since been passed on to the B.C. SPCA, along with an official complaint filed by Animal Justice. The group is now pushing for charges under B.C.’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

“If someone were treating puppies this way, we’d be outraged and demand prosecution,” said Anna Pippus, lawyer and director of advocacy for Animal Justice. “Chickens are no different in their desire to be free from suffering and we should equally protect them from harm.”

Pippus said the “business-as-usual” approach in the chicken industry isn’t enough and that it violates animal protection laws.

Six employees were fired and a probe launched after an animal welfare group recently went undercover at a B.C. chicken-catching company in May to film instances of alleged chicken abuse.

A Mercy for Animals volunteer got a job with the Chilliwack-based Elite Farm Services and used a hidden camera to record footage of staff throwing chickens, tearing them apart with their bare hands and stomping on the birds.

That investigation is ongoing.