Winter 2003 Volume 13, Number 3 PoultryPromoting the compassionate and respectful Press treatment of domestic fowl "Emperor of the World" Veterinarians Told Owners to Throw Their Unwanted Hens into Wood Chippers San Diego County Department of Animal Services Documents Veterinary Cruelty Gregg Cutler, DVM humane death, and he said to me, 'Yes, "On 2/20/03 Dr. Gregg Cutler told of course. However they go in, it's me he was overseeing the depopulation quick, it's painless, and it's over in sec- of the hens on the Ward egg ranch and onds.' their affiliate ranches in San Diego "I then asked him for his title, and County. Cutler told me he authorized he told me, 'Emperor of the World.' I the use of the wood chipper to depopu- was quiet for a second or two, and late the spent hens on the egg ranches. asked him if I could quote him on that. When I His voice asked sounded Cutler if he irritated, thought it and then he was a told me, humane 'I'm a vet- way to erinarian. United Poultry euthanize And an epi- these ani- demiolo- Concerns mals by gist.' I P.O. Box 150 throwing asked him Machipongo, VA them into if he was in 23405-0150 the chipper private (757) 678-7875 FAX: (757) 678-5070 alive, he practice, or responded, Photo By: San Diego County Department of Animal Services where or Visit Our Web Site: who he www.upc-online.org 'Absolutely.' I then asked him if he felt worked with. He told me he was a it was still humane if they were going in Private Consultant and did work with there bunches at a time, being plugged the USDA." up in the shoot, not knowing if they - Patrol Supervisor Lt. Mary Kay were going into the shredder feet first, Gagliardo, Affidavit, February 20, 2003 breast first, if he still considered that a continued on page 2 Special Story Volume 13, Number 3 continued from page 1 Doug Kuney, DVM Director of Communications, AVMA, Letter to "On 2/20/03 Dr. Doug Kuney told me that he United Poultry Concerns, May 8, 2003 and Dr. Gregg Cutler, DVM, were overseeing the destruction of the old laying hens at the Ward egg On September 26, 2003, the San Diego County ranch in Valley Center and its affiliate ranches in Department of Animal Services provided United San Diego County. Kuney said Cutler authorized Poultry Concerns with the investigation file we these ranches to dispose of these animals by means requested under the California Public Records Act of the wood chipper. Kuney told me he thought the regarding the Ward Egg Ranch's use of wood chippers AVMA had approved of this method." - industrial tree shredders - to destroy tens of thou- - Patrol Supervisor Lt. Mary Kay sands of live hens at the company's three locations last Gagliardo, Affidavit, February. The San Diego February 20, 2003 County District Attorney declined to prosecute American ranch owners Arie and Veterinary Medical Bill Wilgenburg largely Association (AVMA) because this atrocity was "Dr. Cutler done on the advice of informed us that he two veterinarians, Drs. has never recommend- Gregg Cutler and Doug ed using a wood chip- Kuney, and because a per or any other grind- document on the han- ing machine to eutha- dling of Exotic Newcastle nize chickens." Disease virus sent anony- - Bruce W. Little, mously to the DVM, Executive Vice Department of Animal President, AVMA, Services showed veteri- Photo By: San Diego County Department of Animal Services Letter to United nary endorsement of Poultry Concerns, March 27, 2003 wood chippers to grind "spent hens" alive: m A large chipper can be rented and set up to dis- "The American Veterinary Medical Association charge directly into a loader bucket or other has not endorsed the use of wood chippers as an container. acceptable means of euthanasia for poultry." m Death is instant and humane. - Gail C. Golab, PhD, DVM, Assistant m The remains can then be dumped in a row on continued on page 3 PoultryPress UNITED POULTRY CONCERNS, INC. is published quarterly by OFFICERS: WEBSITE ADMINISTRATOR: CONSULTANTS & INTERNET United Poultry Concerns, Inc., KAREN DAVIS, PhD, GARY KAPLAN RESEARCHERS: a national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization President-Director GRAPHIC DESIGNERS: MARY FINELLI incorporated GEORGE ALLAN CATE, PhD, PATTRICE JONES in the State of Maryland. Vice President-Director GARY KAPLAN Federal I.D.: 52-1705678 ILL OWARD HURCH SANCTUARY ASSISTANTS: JOAN MEANOR J H C SONIA MALDONADO HOLTGRAVER, MA, OFFICE ASSISTANT: & EDITOR: CAROL BAKER Karen Davis Secretary Treasurer-Director PHOTOGRAPHER SUSAN RAYFIELD GRAPHIC DESIGN: Gary Kaplan/ GK Graphic Designs ADVISORS: Carol J. Adams, Author Ingrid Newkirk, PETA Deborah Tanzer, PhD, WEBSITE ADMINISTRATOR: Nedim C. Buyukmihci, VMD Sheila Schwartz, PhD, Humane Psychologist Gary Kaplan/ GK Graphic Designs Sean Day, Attorney Education Committee of NYC In Memoriam: Henry Spira, Jim Mason, Author Kim Sturla, Animal Place Animal Rights International United Poultry Concerns • (757) 678-7875 2 P.O. Box 150 • Machipongo, VA 23405-0150 Volume 13, Number 3 special story continued from page 2 top of a generous bed of manure, and covered on the AVMA's Animal Welfare Committee. In addi- with a deep mound of manure. tion to advising "egg ranchers" to throw live adult hens into wood chipping machines, and then lying about it In a formal complaint to the CA Veterinary Medical to the AVMA, Cutler supports depriving hens of food Board on 9/2/03, the Dept. of Animal Services in the inhumane egg industry practice known as forced described how the hens died: molting. According to Cutler, starving hens for profit is m A combination of dead and live chickens was "a pro-welfare activity," and hens are force-molted piled into the bucket of a front-end-loader tractor. (starved) "in a safe and humane way" (Journal of the m A hydraulic ram pushed the chickens toward a American Veterinary Medical Association, July 1, 2000). pair of large feed wheels. Please urge the AVMA to remove Gregg m The feed wheels crushed the chickens and fed Cutler, DVM, from the AVMA's Animal Welfare them into a pulverizing device. Committee. While the AVMA continues to support m The pulverizing device destroyed the chickens forced molting, despite overwhelming scientific evi- by use of a large number of rapidly rotating dence that forced molting is a severe animal welfare metal hammers. abuse and a major cause of Salmonella enteritidis in hens and their eggs, the AVMA does not support the use of Neighbor Testifies. Michelle Sorge, a neighbor in wood chippers or tree shredders in its 2000 Report of Valley Center, told investigating officers that the noise the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia. On page 672, the from a tractor and an industrial-sized tree shredder "got report defines euthanasia as "the act of inducing her attention." As she stood on her patio, she and her humane death in an animal," noting "It is our responsi- son "had a clear and unobstructed view of the workers bility as veterinarians and human beings to ensure that next door at the chicken ranch. The workers began to if an animal's life is to be taken, it is done with the empty the chicken houses. Workers would retrieve highest degree of respect." The report can be accessed the hens on carts, take the carts to the shredder and toss at. s or throw the live chickens into the shredder." She knew http://www.avma.org/resources/euthanasia.pdf the hens were alive "because of their movements, noise and action as they were handled prior to being shredded." Bruce Little, DVM, Executive Vice President American Veterinary Medical Association 1931 N. Meacham Road, Suite 100 What Can I Do? Schaumburg, IL 60173-4360 Ph: 847-925-8070. Fax: 847-925-1329 Gregg Cutler, DVM, is the poultry representative UPC Protest Leads Dairy Queen To Cancels Chicken Abuse Ad Thanks to a vigorous UPC letter-writing campaign via the Internet in September, the American Dairy Queen Corp. told UPC it would remove its cruel ad in which chickens were treated like basketballs to sell dead chicken products: "I want you to know that ADQ is taking your comments and the feedback of others seriously. After careful consideration, we have decided to cease airing the commercial at the end of September." UPC thanks our e-subscribers for blitzing Dairy Queen! To view UPC's Action Alert, visit: http://upc-online.org/alerts/90903dq.htm To view UPC's letter to Dairy Queen, visit http://upc-online.org/nr/92403dq.htm United Poultry Concerns • (757) 678-7875 3 P.O. Box 150 • Machipongo, VA 23405-0150 Ducks & Geese Volume 13, Number 3 Ducks and Geese Gets Compassionate Action in Israel and the US Foie Gras: Disease Marketed as a cages so they can't avoid the force feeders with the long metal pipes who assault them three times a day for the Delicacy month before they are slaughtered. "Investigators doc- umented workers carelessly and roughly grabbing Each year in the United States, a half a million ducks by their throats as they struggled to avoid the ducks are tortured and killed for forced-feeding pipe. The their diseased livers, known as stench of death permeated foie gras (fatty liver). In the US, the sheds." For the investiga- two companies raise ducks for tion, rescue, and what you can foie gras: Hudson Valley in New do, visit: http://www.gourmet- York and Sonoma Foie Gras in cruelty.com. California. In September, GourmetCruelty.com released Sonoma Foie Gras the findings of their covert investigation of these facilities.