United Poultry Concerns January 10, 2001
UPC Letter to Tyson, Foster Farms
Re: Chickens Victimized by Winter Storms

See HSUS Action alert - http://www.hsus.org/whatnew/arkchickens010301.html
Ed Nicholson,
Director
January 10, 2001
Media and Community Relations
Tyson Foods, Inc.
PO Box 2020
Springdale, AR 72765


Dear Mr. Nicholson:

On behalf of United Poultry Concerns, a national nonprofit organization, I am writing to you concerning the thousands of Tyson chickens reportedly victimized by recent winter storms. It seems that Tyson does not have a disaster program in place for removing, feeding, watering, or euthanizing birds in need of help. We are requesting that Tyson develop and implement a humane program for dealing with the collapsed sheds, power outages, extreme weather conditions, and other emergency conditions to which intensively raised birds are particularly susceptible.

We request that Tyson create an emergency program with specific procedures, in coordination with appropriate state agencies. The program should include rapid removal of birds in a disaster situation to a safe location stocked with emergency food and water supplies. Suffering birds should be immediately euthanized.

We request that Tyson reduce the number of chickens in the sheds, thereby reducing the number of potential disaster victims while making it easier to evacuate birds in case of an emergency. We request that Tyson build smaller houses that, properly designed, will be less liable to structural failure and to temperature and ventilation fluctuations.

We request that Tyson create and implement a program that enables its contract growers to take immediate and effective action to assist birds in their care when disasters, such as the current one, strike, instead of forcing growers to remain idle while birds they could help die miserably of cold, hunger, thirst, terror, and suffocation.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I would appreciate a response from you.

Sincerely,

Karen Davis, PhD
President

Cc: Arkansas Poultry Federation, U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, Honorable Tim Hutchinson, Honorable Blanche Lincoln.

United Poultry Concerns. January 10, 2001

United Poultry Concerns, Inc.
PO Box 150
Machipongo, VA 23405-0150
757-678-7875
FAX: 757-678-5070
www.upc-online.org

(UPC Letter to Tyson, Foster Farms Re: Chickens Victimized by Winter Storms )