03-05-2025
Woes over starving chickens in Delmas continue
The DA in Mpumalanga has called on the NSPCA to intervene and take action against the management of a Daybreak Poultry Farm in Delmas.
That is according to a media statement released by Tersia Marshall, DA spokesperson for Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs recently.
'We discovered acts of animal cruelty and neglect on the poultry farm associated with the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs,' said Marshall.
Chickens on the farm have resorted to cannibalism because of not being fed for at least four consecutive days.
According to Marshall, the DA has learnt day-old chicks died because of cold exposure.
'Ongoing electrical disruptions that have prevented access to essential heating equipment reportedly caused this,' Marshall added.
'We witnessed the severity of the impact on-site. Numerous chicken bodies were scattered outside the poultry runs. In one particularly distressing instance, chickens escaped through a narrow opening in the structure, desperately searching for food, only to peck at the decomposing carcasses of their fellow chickens.
'Previously, we alerted the MEC of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs, Mpumelelo Hlophe, about a substantial number of chickens had died because of a lack of food.
'However, no response or intervention has been forthcoming from the MEC or the department. It is concerning to note how the MEC has turned a blind eye to gross violation of animal welfare standards,' Marshall added.
This was after reports surfacing about chickens on farms in the Delmas district resorting to cannibalism after being without food for up to three days.
Reports of breeders not getting paid for chickens delivered to Daybreak also reached Streeknews.
'We have been battling since January to get paid by Daybreak for chickens delivered,' one such breeder, who wishes to stay anonymous, told Streeknews.
'Since the incident in February when chickens starved of hunger, we have heard about more than one farm where no food was delivered or not enough delivered and where the chickens resorted to cannibalism because of hunger.
'We are, however, contractually bound to grow only Daybreak chicks and also restricted to the chicken feed supplied by Daybreak. We also received regular visits in the last months from the SPCA.'
Streeknews made numerous attempts to contact a spokesperson for Daybreak Foods, but at the time of going to print, had no success.
The DA reiterates all animals, regardless of their economic purpose, are entitled to humane treatment.
The reported conditions on the farm constitute a violation of the Animals Protection Act, 1962 (Act No. 71 of 1962), which states under Section 2(1)(e) and (q) that any person who 'being the owner or person having the charge or control of any animal, fails to provide such animal with sufficient food or water or causes any animal to be subjected to unnecessary suffering' is guilty of an offence.
'The DA remains committed to ensuring all animals are treated with dignity and those responsible for cruelty and neglect held accountable under the law,' Marshall concluded.
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