50,000 birds abandoned at US poultry farm

//27 Feb 2012
US poultry producer, A&L Poultry could face criminal charges after it was revealed that the company had abandoned 50,000 chickens, leaving them unfed for two weeks.
Authorities were forced to euthanise nearly 48,000 of the chickens on the Californian farm, leaving approximately 2,000 to be treated at sanctuaries.

The company has since issued a formal apology, claiming that they planned to ship the chicken’s to a third party in the course of shutting down its egg production.

The company stated the chickens were abandoned by accident: “An attempt to arrange for delivery of the chickens to a third party in order to avoid the usual business practice of euthanising the chickens resulted in an unacceptable situation A&L Poultry did not intend, and profoundly regrets.”

According to reports a prosecution of the owner of A&L Poultry, Andy Keung Cheung, will follow next week. When operational the company produced between 12.5 million and 15 million eggs a year.

Source: msnbc.com