Yesterday two activists walked past a security checkpoint using the side of a live chicken transport lorry as cover to investigate the conditions at the second biggest poultry slaughterhouse in the UK.

One of the activists said:

"The crates were piled fifteen crates high and there was inches of faeces and blood, the smell made me gag, It was so hot in there, the chickens were covered in excrement waiting to be loaded on to a large conveyor belt and then shackled and killed."

This investigation was in response to recent coverage of conditions inside intensive chicken farming facilities. The intention was to gather information but after seeing how bad conditions were, however an opportunity arose and a chicken was spontaneously rescued by the activists.

One activists managed to open a cage and run with 4 security staff and a van chasing them on foot. One activist stopped for a couple of seconds to lead the staff towards him and away from the activist with rescued chicken in his hands. The chicken and activist got away but one male was apprehended by security staff and arrested shortly after.

‘Rocky’ named after a chicken from the film ‘Chicken Run’ was taken to a new home to live out the rest of his days in fresh air with clean water devoid of any growth inducing hormones, chemicals and anti-biotics. Rocky seemed much calmer than the activists minutes after the rescue took place, we are sure he knew full well that we were on his side unlike the workers of Sun Valley.

One male was released late last night on bail for attempted burglary and police are still searching for another individual last seen ‘running from security with a live chicken under his arm’.

He said:

“We had no intention of taking a chicken, the conditions were so horrific I couldn’t breath and was retching so I found it hard to run, I have since heard that the chicken was homed with a loving family. I couldn’t be happier, this chicken was minutes away from having his throat slashed and body dragged through scalding water.”

Rocky's new family said:

“Rocky had some hock burns on his legs caused by the high ammonia levels in intensive farms and was a little unstable on his feet but we hope he will be up and running very soon with some companions. He is still cheeping and has blue eyes as chickens are slaughtered at only five weeks old they are still chicks. The various chemical cocktails that have been fed to him and millions of other chickens his body have caused him to grow too quickly and his legs cannot adequately support his weight yet.”

The Western Animal Rights Network would ask members of the public to think about what that final release might be like for a chicken, 45 million chickens die during a five week life of suffering before they even reach a place like Sun Valley where it was documented that they were slaughtering 87 birds per minute in 1993. The chicks are shackled upside down, they experience a violent death which some say is preferable to their sustained torturous life. It is so easy to remove yourself from this process of suffering and torment but replacing animal products you eat with vegan fake “meats” and cutting out animal products all together.

“You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson "Fate", The Conduct of Life, 1860