Kinship Circle | Letter Campaigns

4/6/09: WIN! Abusers On Maine Egg Farm Ought To Rot In Jail

SOURCE OF INFORMATION / BACKGROUND

Win! Quality Egg Is Guilty And Fined For Cruelty

JUNE 2010, SUMMARY: Kinship Circle supported a Mercy For Animals undercover investigation inside Quality Egg of New England, a Maine factory farm. Thanks to all who sent comments in this breakthrough case. In a rare outcome for farmed animals, Quality Egg pled guilty to 10 animal cruelty counts and acquiesced to $130,000 in fines and restitution. The largest egg maker in the U.S. also granted the state authority to make unannounced inspections for the next five years.

Egg-laying hens endure particularly cruel conditions. Producers typically pack 6-9 hens inside wire coops no larger than a filing drawer. Each bird lives in a space half the size of a sheet of paper and cannot flutter a wing or extend a leg. To curtail fighting and cannibalism, workers amputate the bottom third of each bird's beak. Each year, millions of male chicks are crushed alive in automated mashers. Spread as fertilizer, some mutilated chicks still peep once spread over the ground.

THE LETTER CAMPAIGN BELOW IS NOW CLOSED.

• Terri Kelley, Kinship Circle, Investigative Research
• The Rotten Truth: Egg Industry Cruelty Revealed
• State executes search warrant at Turner egg farmer
• WGME News 13 VIIDEO
• Maine egg farm is accused of mistreating it hens – Chicago Tribune
• Allegations of animal abuse at Maine farm
• Cruelty Allegations Investigated At Turner Egg Farm
• Animal Cruelty Allegations at Former Decoster Egg Farm Under Investigation
• Quality Eggs of New England

An undercover investigator with Mercy for Animals took this photo at the farm. Sun Journal

CONTACT INFORMATION + SAMPLE LETTER

CONTACT INFORMATION • Print/Send This Letter

Office of the Franklin County District Attorney
Norman R. Croteau, Esq., District Attorney
Andrew Robinson, Assistant District Attorney
Prosecutorial District III, Franklin County Courthouse
140 Main Street; Farmington, ME 04938-1800
ph: 207-778-5890, 207- 778-6614
fax: 207-779-0892, 207-778-5899
Julie Magoon, Franklin County Clerk:
jmagoon@franklincountyme.com
Leanne E Pinkham, Farmington Town Clerk:
townclk@farmington-maine.org
Frederick Hardy, Commissioner:
fphardy@gwi.net
Gary McGrane, Commissioner:
gary.mcgrane@umit.maine.edu
SOURCE:
homeinfomax.com/Public/County_Records/ME-Maine/Franklin_county.html
professorprofits.com/states/county.php?state=ME&county=Franklin
maine.statelawyers.com/Cities/City_Detail.cfm/CityID :2337

Maine Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources
Commissioner's Office; Deering Bldg. - AMHI Complex
28 State House Station; Augusta, ME 04333-0028
ph: 207-287-3419; fax: 207-287-7548
Commissioner Seth H. Bradstreet:
agriculture.commissioner@maine.gov
Deputy Commissioner Edwub R, Porter:
ned.r.porter@maine.gov
Randy Mraz, TEFAP Coordinator:
andy.mraz@maine.gov
SOURCE: www.maine.gov/agriculture/co/index.shtml

Maine Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural
Resources / Division of Animal Health and Industry
28 State House Station Deering Bldg - AMHI Complex
Augusta, ME 04333-0028
Dr. Don Hoenig, DVM, State Veterinarian:
207-287-3701; Donald.E.Hoenig@maine.gov
SOURCE: www.maine.gov/agriculture/ahi/diseases/CWDlinks.html

Maine Department of Agriculture
Animal Welfare Program
Norma J. Worley, Director:
norma.j.worley@maine.gov, animal.welfare@maine.gov
SOURCE: www.maine.gov/agriculture/aw/

Maine Department of Agriculture
Animal Welfare Advisory Council
Gary Balducci, Farming:
wwa@gwi.net
Meris J. Bickford, Animal Expertise Attorney:
MerisBickfordMSSPA@roadrunner.com
Christina B. Perkins, Animal Advocacy Group:
cperkins22@roadrunner.com
Sharon Secovich, Public Interest:
SSecovich_awac@roadrunner.com
SOURCE: www.maine.gov/agriculture/aw/awac.html

***KINSHIP CIRCLE CANNOT GUARANTEE ALL
EMAILS WILL WORK*** During campaigns, recipients
may change or disable their email addresses.
Emails from government, corporate, or institute
websites may be incorrect.

ALL EMAILS IN THIS ALERT:

OFFICIALS (FROM ABOVE) FOR WHOM EMAILS WERE FOUND:
jmagoon@franklincountyme.com, townclk@farmington-maine.org, fphardy@gwi.net, gary.mcgrane@umit.maine.edu, agriculture.commissioner@maine.gov, ned.r.porter@maine.gov, randy.mraz@maine.gov, Donald.E.Hoenig@maine.gov, norma.j.worley@maine.gov, animal.welfare@maine.gov, wwa@gwi.net, MerisBickfordMSSPA@roadrunner.com, cperkins22@roadrunner.com, SSecovich_awac@roadrunner.com

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SAMPLE LETTER • Print/Send This Letter

Dear Franklin County District Attorney and Maine Department of Agriculture:

I thank the Maine Department of Agriculture for its prompt investigation of Quality Egg of New England LLC in response to allegations of extreme animal cruelty. I respectfully ask the Franklin County District Attorney's Office to file criminal charges against Quality Egg in Turner, Maine.

I understand the organization Mercy for Animals (MFA) filed a complaint with the Animal Welfare Program of Maine's Agriculture Department. The complaint cites potentially illegal activities documented by MFA's undercover investigator from 12/16/08 to 2/1/09 at the former Decoster Egg Farm.

MFA videotapes show egg-producing hens caged alongside decaying carcasses. Employees and supervisors swing birds in circles to snap their necks, but often cause prolonged pain rather than instantaneous death. Workers and managers toss live hens in garbage cans where they are gradually smashed beneath the weight of other dead birds.

Hens — some with shattered bones, open sores and untreated infections — are mashed four to six per wire cage. Enclosures are so small, they can't flutter a wing or extend a leg, let alone peck, perch or express any natural behavior. Apparently, birds get stuck in cage wire or underneath feeding trays with no way to reach food and water. Some are so entangled their faces or other body parts are crushed against conveyer belts. Management and staff kick hens into manure trenches where birds either suffocate in liquid feces or slowly succumb to disease, injury or starvation.

Clearly, these images depict violations of Maine's anti-cruelty laws. Both the company and workers shown brutalizing hens should face animal cruelty charges. Please proceed with their arrest and prosecution. I encourage you to seek maximum penalties under the law.

Domestic fowl are not machines on an assembly line. They share the same neurophysiologic makeup as mammals and possess a complex nervous system that enables them to feel fear and distress.

I urge Maine officials to initiate a no-tolerance policy for abuse within the livestock industry. The production of eggs does not justify blatant cruelty.

Thank you,

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