AVMA says not to use wood chippers to euthanize chickens

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-12-10 12:31pm

I just thought this was too funny:

http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jun03/030601d.asp

Wood chippers not to be used to euthanatize poultry, AVMA says

"Use of wood chippers has not been endorsed by the AVMA as an acceptable means of euthanasia for poultry." This statement is a response to an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune that reported employees at two area poultry farms used wood chippers to dispose of some 30,000 live hens in February. The article erroneously stated that the AVMA approves of the method.

"It is absolutely absurd and ludicrous to believe that any veterinary medical association, especially an association that has for more than 140 years been the leading voice for humane and proper care of animals, could or would advocate throwing live chickens into a wood chipper as an appropriate method of euthanasia," said Dr. Bruce W. Little, AVMA executive vice president.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture denies that the veterinarian who was consulted is a USDA employee. The San Diego County district attorney initially decided against filing animal cruelty charges against the owners of Ward Egg Farm. But in April she reopened the case after receiving numerous complaints criticizing her decision not to press charges.

The owners of Ward Egg Farm claim that a veterinarian with the USDA had signed off on using wood chippers to destroy the hens. State quarantine rules enacted because of the outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease in Southern California prevented the hens from being transported to a slaughterhouse elsewhere in the state.

AVMA-sanctioned methods of euthanasia for poultry and other animals are detailed in the "2000 Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia," available at www.avma.org/resources/euthanasia.pdf .

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2003-12-10 12:55pm

Darth Wong wrote:I just thought this was too funny:

http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jun03/030601d.asp

Wood chippers not to be used to euthanatize poultry, AVMA says

"Use of wood chippers has not been endorsed by the AVMA as an acceptable means of euthanasia for poultry." This statement is a response to an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune that reported employees at two area poultry farms used wood chippers to dispose of some 30,000 live hens in February. The article erroneously stated that the AVMA approves of the method.

"It is absolutely absurd and ludicrous to believe that any veterinary medical association, especially an association that has for more than 140 years been the leading voice for humane and proper care of animals, could or would advocate throwing live chickens into a wood chipper as an appropriate method of euthanasia," said Dr. Bruce W. Little, AVMA executive vice president.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture denies that the veterinarian who was consulted is a USDA employee. The San Diego County district attorney initially decided against filing animal cruelty charges against the owners of Ward Egg Farm. But in April she reopened the case after receiving numerous complaints criticizing her decision not to press charges.

The owners of Ward Egg Farm claim that a veterinarian with the USDA had signed off on using wood chippers to destroy the hens. State quarantine rules enacted because of the outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease in Southern California prevented the hens from being transported to a slaughterhouse elsewhere in the state.

AVMA-sanctioned methods of euthanasia for poultry and other animals are detailed in the "2000 Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia," available at www.avma.org/resources/euthanasia.pdf .

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-12-10 01:07pm

Wouldn't the clean up be messy as hell?

Too funny, though.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-12-10 01:13pm

Thanks for the warning.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-12-10 01:14pm

Seriously, though, how painful would this be for the chickens? Wouldn't it only last a couple seconds?

I'm not saying this a good way of killing them, I'm just curious.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-12-10 01:19pm

I think its more of a general cruelty/graphicness thing.

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2003-12-10 01:20pm

Wood chipper should only be used to kill pedophiles.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-12-10 01:21pm

Montcalm wrote:Wood chipper should only be used to kill pedophiles.

I would personally prefer a slitting of the throat.

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2003-12-10 01:31pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:
Montcalm wrote:Wood chipper should only be used to kill pedophiles.
I would personally prefer a slitting of the throat.

But if you put them feet first and slowly push in....

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-12-10 01:37pm

In my opinion, disgusting monsters such as pedophiles should be destroyed as quickly as possible, so slitting the throat or a firing squad would be ideal in my values.

A wood chipper is just a waste, and would just mean that someone has to clean it up.

Peregrin Toker · Post by **Peregrin Toker** » 2003-12-10 02:01pm

(stares bug-eyed on in disbelief)

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2003-12-10 02:06pm

Pedophiles? Hmm, burning or stoning, burning or stoning...

As for the chickens, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

Zoink · Post by **Zoink** » 2003-12-10 02:52pm

The alternative is to restrain each chicken and electrocute them, then unrestrain and toss them in a truck. There's a chicken slaughterhouse in my area, and thinking of how they do it, they'd have to move each chicken from their storage unit (a big tractor trailor composed of horizontal cages with every available space packed with a chicken) into the factory's 'killing line', then back out again.

That's probably more work/money than setting up a chipper, and tossing the chickens from their cage into the chipper, which feeds into a holding vessel, which is later dumped. Kinda heartless, but its that heartlessness that gives everyone cheap affordable chicken to eat.

They might even be using the animal slury for something else. Pig food? Fertillizer? Who knows.

Post by **Zaia** » 2003-12-10 02:54pm

I love how on the original site it reads "poultry" up above the article date. A classification for subject, I assume, but, for whatever reason, it amuses me.

Dr. Little's quote is beautiful... Ahahahah. How the hell did you stumble across this, Mike?!

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-12-10 03:01pm

I must admit that I find the idea of using woodchippers to kill chickens simultaniously disgusting and hilarious.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-12-10 04:05pm

This has me laughing verbally. But 30,000 chickens? That must have taken hours, I wonder just how many chippers they had going?

The Cleric · Post by **The Cleric** » 2003-12-10 06:19pm

Probably just one. You know they had a blast.

h0rus · Post by **h0rus** » 2003-12-11 05:21am

Wood Chipper + Political Dissidents + Forum morons = good.

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2003-12-11 05:38am

30,000 chickens in a wood chipper makes for an awful lot of poultry goo. Ick!

Joe Momma · Post by **Joe Momma** » 2003-12-11 05:50am

Joe wrote:Wouldn't the clean up be messy as hell?

Actually, a wood chipper is a fine way to break a body down into more easily disposable chunks without making a huge mess. The trick is to freeze the body first. 24 hours in your average large food-storage freezer should be sufficient for most people.

A chicken wouldn't take as long, though freezing 30,000 of them is probably more trouble than it's worth, especially since you're not trying to break them down for concealed transport.

-- Joe Momma

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-12-11 05:59am

I really didn't need to know that...

Dorsk 81 · Post by **Dorsk 81** » 2003-12-11 06:14am

Joe wrote:Wouldn't the clean up be messy as hell?

Too funny, though.

I'm suddenly reminded of the Jackass where they throw food through a wood chippers and it gets shot at Stevo...or Bam, can't remember which.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2003-12-11 08:03am

Joe wrote:Seriously, though, how painful would this be for the chickens? Wouldn't it only last a couple seconds?

I'm not saying this a good way of killing them, I'm just curious.

in biology in school they showed us a film in which they showed how they get rid of worthles male baby chicken (worthles because they don´t lay eggs and consume too much food). they indeed used something like a wood shredder to get rid of them. it went fairily quick, half a second or something, so you cant say it was really that painful.