60 chickens fall off truck headed for live market in Brooklyn; birds rescued by farm sanctuary

May 22, 2015 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Sixty chickens fell of a transport truck heading to one of Brooklyn’s live markets Thursday. They were rescued by Farm Sanctuary, a farm animal protection organization. Photo courtesy of NYC Animal Care & Control

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Rescuers from Farm Sanctuary, America’s leading farm animal protection organization, on Friday visited NYC’s Animal Care and Control Center (AC&C) at 2336 Linden Blvd. in Brooklyn to pick up 60 chickens that fell off of a transport truck on Thursday. Farm Sanctuary told the Eagle that the birds were slated to go to one of the borough’s live markets (storefront slaughterhouses where animals are killed and sold on-site).

According to Farm Sanctuary, transport accidents like these are common with farm animals, who often endure long trips crammed inside tiny crates — usually without food or water — that are often not adequately tied down with straps. Crates sometimes fall off the trucks without the driver even noticing.

A Farm Sanctuary representative described these trips as “a harrowing experience for the birds, many of whom die from the physical and psychological stress before they ever reach the slaughterhouse, or suffer broken wings from rough handling.”

This is the second group of birds that NYC AC&C has saved from transport accidents in the past 12 months, Farm Sanctuary reported.