Egg farmer receives five-year ban over cruelty to thousands of hens
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A New South Wales commercial egg farmer has been convicted of animal cruelty charges relating to thousands of hens after coming to the attention of the RSPCA when activists tried to rescue them on his farm.
Key points:
- The farm’s owner Shaun Robert Stone, 36, was charged with multiple animal cruelty offences
- Stone was fined $6,500 and banned from owning any animals for five years
- Protesters allegedly attended the chicken farm in June last year in an attempt to rescue the birds
One thousand dead hens were found at the property in Picton, south-west of Sydney in June 2018, while a further 4,000 live hens were found living in poor conditions.
Warning: A following image contains graphic content
Following investigations by the RSPCA and NSW Police, the farm’s owner Shaun Robert Stone, 36, was charged with multiple animal cruelty offences.
Picton Local Court heard half of the birds on Mr Stone’s property were suffering a respiratory disease, while most were considered underweight and infested with lice.
Animal husbandry problems were also identified in the shed the chickens were housed including poor ventilation, broken feeders and water pipes, and dangerous wiring where birds had come trapped.
The 4,000 remaining hens were deemed a biosecurity risk and were euthanised.
Mr Stone was fined $6,500 and banned from owning any animals for five years.
Animal activists also facing charges
Thirteen protesters armed with small cages attended the Picton chicken farm in June last year in an attempted to rescue the birds.
The group allegedly ignored directions to leave the property and placed chickens in cages before fleeing.
Members of the NSW Hen Rescue group were stopped by police and charged with trespass and stealing.
The footage captured and posted to social media of the hens’ living conditions was distressing, showing hundreds of hens crammed into a shed as well as rotting carcasses of dead chickens.
RSPCA NSW inspector Tanya Dominguez said she was appalled by the conditions at the property.
“To see the animals dying, deceased or covered in faeces or mud was quite shocking,” Ms Dominguez said.
But she said she did not condone the actions of the activists.
“Any person who enters an intensive farming community without the appropriate equipment and without lawful entry is a problem,” she said.
“We do need to be very careful that they are not transporting diseases and transmitting these diseases to other animals.”
Some of the protesters still have their matter before NSW Courts.
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