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On January 20th, while poultry producers convened for their
annual International Poultry Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, UPC
and AVAR held a news conference to expose the industry-wide
practice of starving hens known as forced molting. Speakers
included Karen Davis, PhD, president of United Poultry Concerns;
Laurie Siperstein, DVM, avian specialist, AVAR; Murry Cohen, MD;
and Roger Caras, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals (ASPCA) president and former ABC-TV Special
Correspondent. The speakers called upon egg producers to end the
forced molting of hens, citing the link between starving the
birds and causing disease.
The news conference was attended by the Atlanta-based CBS
television station WGNX, Feedstuffs ("the weekly newspaper of
agribusiness") editor Sarah Muirhead, animal advocates, and
representatives from the poultry & egg industry. Each attendee
received a full press packet including UPC and AVAR's petition to
the Food and Drug Administration urging the agency to ban the
practice of starving hens for profit. Forced molting is so cruel
it destroys the hens' immune system and is a major cause of
Salmonella food poisoning. In every respect, Roger Caras told the
audience, "The poultry & egg industry is a savage industry."
This was the first news conference ever held on forced
molting. We wish to thank everyone who joined us in speaking out
for the millions of hens being starved in their cages by the
unregulated US egg industry.
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