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Electricity Dependent Factory Farms Criticized

CALIFORNIA- May 3, 2001 - California poultry producers say that millions of birds could die within minutes if the electricity which is used to run fans and cooling systems is shut down in rolling blackouts. In response, Farm Sanctuary, a national farm animal protection organization, is criticizing intensive 'factory farms' for crowding thousands of chickens or other farm animals into warehouse like buildings which are dependent on electricity to provide the animals' basic needs.

According to Gene Baur (formerly Bauston), Director of Farm Sanctuary, "Tens of thousands of chickens are commonly confined to a single building, with each bird given less than a square foot of space. These conditions are cruel, and the birds are completely dependent on fans and other mechanized equipment for their basic needs. If the equipment fails, the animals are doomed to suffer painful deaths. What's worse, some of these facilities don't even have a back up power generator."

Farm Sanctuary, which operates farm animal sanctuaries in upstate New York and northern California, opposes intensive factory farming conditions which contribute to the deaths of hundreds of millions of animals every year in the United States. The organization believes that farm animals should be provided more healthful and humane conditions, and that the animals should be given more space and an appropriate environment which allows them to engage in natural behaviors (such as perching, dust bathing, and nest building in the case of chickens).

On factory farms, egg producing hens are confined tightly in 'battery cages' where they cannot even stretch their wings, while chickens raised for meat are packed by the tens of thousands into warehouse-like factories where fumes generated by their excrement poses serious health risks. For more information on factory farming conditions, please see: www.factoryfarming.com.

About Farm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the "food animal" industry through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming. Additional information can be found at www.farmsanctuary.org or by calling 607-583-2225.