| Monday
May 15th
PAM
BACK IN COURT
Battery hen farming is the real crime say protestors
Members of Against Animal Cruelty
Tasmania will be protesting outside the Hobart Court of Petty Sessions
from 2pm on Tuesday in support of veteran Tasmanian battery hen campaigner,
Pam Clark, who will appear in court for non-payment of fines for a 2002
burglary conviction.
Pam and a number of other activists
broke into the Pure Foods battery hen farm in Longford in 2002 because
of concerns over the conditions in which the hens were kept. While conducting
the undercover inspection, the activists rescued a number of birds they
found who were in need of urgent veterinary attention. Pam and Animal
Liberation Victoria President, Patty Mark were subsequently charged with
burglary for removing these sick birds. On principle, both women have
refused to pay their fines.
Said AACT spokesperson, Yvette
Watt:
“I have been into the Pure Foods battery farm in Longford and
can only say that I was disgusted by the shocking conditions these poor
hens are forced to endure for the sake of cheap eggs. It is nothing
short of a living hell. Many of the hens had their beaks cut so short
that it must have been extremely difficult to eat, and ammonia levels
were so high in at least one shed that it was almost impossible to breathe.
During the original court
case when the activists were convicted of burglary, the Magistrate was
clearly affected by the video footage of the Pure Foods battery farm
that was shown as part of the defendants’ evidence. The video
showed hens crammed into cages with high levels of airborne dust and
dirt. He acknowledged that the activists were acting altruistically.
Ms Watt continued:
“People such as Pam Clark and Patty Mark do what they do not for
personal gain, but to help put an end to animal cruelty. The hens they
removed would mostly likely have suffered lingering deaths if it were
not for Pam and Patty’s intervention. The question they ask themselves
is ‘How can we turn our backs on this suffering?’. They
feel it is their duty to expose this suffering to the public so that
they can see for themselves what goes on inside these animal concentration
camps. As such they have our full support.
“Battery hens such
as those at Pure Foods are forced to live out their entire lives crammed
with up to three others in a wire cage, with no more space than an A4
piece of paper per bird. They are not able to perform their most basic
instinctive behaviours such as scratching on the ground, building a
nest or dust-bathing in the sun. That it is legal to keep hens this
way is the real crime.” concluded Ms Watt
For more information:
Yvette Watt, 0408 970 359 or 0407 564 425
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