Snohomish County, WA –Based on videotapes, photos, and necropsies of starved hens supplied by Pasado’s Safe Haven of Monroe, Washington, Amberson Farm owner Keith Amberson pled guilty to one count of cruelty to animals for abandoning thousands of caged hens to starve to death rather than comply with Washington’s environmental laws. On Dec. 8, 2000, Everett District Court Judge Tom Kelly ruled that Amberson must pay a $500 fine, perform 200 hours of community service, and not keep animals for 2 years. While true justice would have sentenced the miserable Amberson to life in prison without parole, his conviction is a victory for prosecutors of the first egg farmer in Washington State history ever to be charged with cruelty to chickens. “This is a really crucial victory for the millions of hens in Washington who are forced to live their lives caged up in little, tiny, cramped cages where they are never allowed to smell fresh air and stretch their wings,” Mark Steinway, cofounder with Susan Michaels of Pasado’s Safe Haven, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

What Friends are For . . . Every night, without fail, Sylvia, one of the little hens from the Amberson Egg Farm rescue, chooses to sleep on a soft dog bed in Pasado’s Safe Haven rehab house with Lilly, a paralyzed cat, and Sadie, the rescued Collie.