Hundreds of chicks abandoned and left to die in field

SCORES of day-old chicks have died after hundreds of the birds were dumped in a field.

Despite the efforts of locals who helped to gather the birds, pictured above, in cardboard boxes to keep them warm, the cold weather meant that dozens of chicks did not survive.

The discovery was made on Friday in Crowland, near Peterborough. RSPCA inspector Justin Stubbs said last night: ‘I’ve never seen anything like it – it was just a sea of yellow.

‘The chicks were about a day old and really tiny and quite delicate. Some of the birds were dead or dying when we arrived, so some, sadly, had to be put to sleep humanely.

‘For someone to dump these vulnerable chicks is unbelievable. But I’d like to thank all the members of the public who teamed together to help us round up the birds.’

The RSPCA said the chicks may have come from a commercial producer and abandoned by a third party. An unnamed breeder was said to be ‘fully co-operating’ with RSPCA investigators.