“Chick Days” Protest
SUNDAY, APRIL 19TH, 12:00-2:00
A.W. Brown's Pet & Garden Store
144 Shaker Rd., East Longmeadow, MA
Hello, Fellow Animal Advocates,
A. W. Brown's in East Longmeadow is selling chicks for the first time! Let's make it the last! Please join WMARA (Western Mass. Animal Rights Advocates) on SUNDAY, APRIL 19TH, 12:00-2:00, IN FRONT OF A.W. BROWN'S IN EAST LONGMEADOW! Signs and literature will be provided, but feel free to bring your own sign. Possible lunch afterwards.
PARKING: Please do not park in their lot! Park in abutting business lots. Feel free to email or call/text me at (413) 374-1921 if you have any questions.
I stopped in and spoke to the manager and took some pictures. The chicks were huddled together in metal bins with little bedding in the middle of the noisy store, where many people and dogs walk by. A few were even in a glass tank with absolutely no bedding! They were filthy, according to the employee, so needed to be washed. It's unfathomable how terrified those poor babies were. They belong with their mothers in a peaceful natural habitat.
And as if that wasn't cruel enough, the manager said they ordered 300 newborn chicks from Murray McMurray Hatchery - a massive factory farm in Iowa!!! Many chicks die in those long trips across the country. They ALL suffer.
According to Humane Long Island, Petco sells baby chicks from Murray McMurray Hatchery too...a massive factory farm that:
- Gasses thousands of male chicks
- Ships newborn chicks via USPS without food or water
- Even UPS and FedEx refuse to ship live chicks due to the cruelty involved.
See Humane Long Island's site (Scroll down) - https://humaneli.org/adopt-dont-shop/
-----------------------------PLEASE TAKE ACTION ONLINE TOO! PLEASE URGE A.W. BROWN'S TO STOP SELLING CHICKS: Urge A.W. Brown to stop supporting such cruelty! Share the above facts with them and tell them you won't support their business until they stop supporting and hosting such cruelty. We do not support buying chicks, but if people insist on having chicks for eggs, they can adopt from online sites, like Petfinder. There are also LOCAL farms that sell eggs and chicks. People can visit them to see the conditions. Local farms often have much more natural conditions and higher standards than factory farms, and the chicks won't suffer and die being shipped like cargo across the country.
*** Contact A.W. Brown Pet & Garden Store:
Website: https://awbrown.com/pages/contact
Email: info@awbrown.com
Phone: (413) 525-2115
Please join and share our Facebook event page too.
Thank you!
WMARA is joining UPC (United Poultry Concerns) in advocating for the end of chick sales in our local communities and hope to work with town officials who have the authority to limit or stop this irresponsible practice. Outside of the world of sanctuary and rescue, many have no idea how many birds are abandoned every year, or why! Our goal is to end the shipment of "live baby chicks" or any other animal through the mail to ALL retail stores, hoping they will remain focused on their original business model, which the communities depend on.
If you would like to ban the retail sale in your town, please contact me! Talking points can be from a human health perspective – the spread of Avian Flu. The fragile birds arrive at the stores typically from out of state. They are often dumped in parks and ponds where they could be exposed to avian influenza through the droppings of infected wild birds, or they could spread the virus if they themselves were already infected. Avian influenza is known to jump species including humans, so this is a health concern as well as a humane issue.
See here for more shocking facts about "chick days" (they apply to A.W. Brown as well … not just Tractor Supply)
- - Urge Tractor Supply Company to Stop Selling Chicks & Ducklings - 3 February 2026 - UPC
- - Live Chicks for Sale: An Inhumane Practice - SPCA International
Hope to see you there!
For the Chicks,
Sheryl & "The Chick Crew"