A civil settlement against the state's largest egg farm is being called landmark by the animal protection organization whose undercover video led to the investigation and prosecution of the company last year.
Laying hens are shown in a cage at a Quality Egg of New England farm in Turner during the Mercy for Animals investigation.
"This case graphically illustrates the need for stricter state and federal laws to protect farm animals from abuse and the need for more oversight on factory farms," said Nathan Runkle, executive director of Mercy for Animals.
The national nonprofit animal advocacy organization issued a statement Sunday reporting that a "landmark" civil settlement against Quality Egg of New England will be announced Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. in Lewiston District Court. Originally founded as AJ DeCoster Egg Farms in 1961, the factory farm in Turner was reorganized in 1997 as a limited liability company and is the largest producer of eggs in New England.
Mercy for Animals, an Illinois-based organization that specializes in farm animal abuse and protection cases, filed a formal complaint against the Turner farm with the Animal Welfare Program of the Maine Department of Agriculture in March 2009, asking that civil and criminal charges be brought against the farm and its workers.
That complaint came after a representative of Mercy for Animals worked for Quality Egg without revealing his or her connection to the protection organization and secretly videotaped conditions at the farm between December and February 2008.
State agriculture officials armed with a search warrant raided the Plains Road farm in April 2009 searching for evidence of animal cruelty.
"It shows that the egg industry is incapable of self-regulating itself," Runkle said.
Mercy for Animals' representatives documented “an ongoing pattern of cruelty to animals,” including workers kicking live hens into manure pits, sick and injured birds without apparent veterinary care or humane euthanasia, crowded pens, dilapidated cages and unclean conditions — including extremely decomposed corpses and rotting eggs in cages with live hens producing eggs for human consumption, and hens living with feces caked on them.
According to Maine law, egg-laying hens fall under the protection of Maine’s animal cruelty laws. Franklin County Assistant District Attorney Andrew Robinson was assigned to handle the case.
In its statement, Mercy for Animals reported that the settlement is expected to include admissions of guilt on multiple counts of animal cruelty, a monetary fine and stricter state oversight of the facility.
Runkle said Sunday evening that he is unsure of the exact details of the settlement, but anticipates that the admissions of guilt will be a company-wide admission and not that of specific individuals.
Attempts to reach representatives for Quality Egg on Sunday were unsuccessful.
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egg on our faces again.....
Man, those chickens are going to have a heck of a life now aren't they. Deek ought to set them free and start raising free range eggs down there in Turner. Tear down the barns! Just put up miles of fence, and let 'em cluck and crap all over the place! The locals can't raise enough eggs to meet the demand without creating the same problems that Deek seems to have. Whats wrong with you animal rightists? We seem to cut our noses off to spite our faces, constantly raising costs on ourselves. We're destroying ourselves, and our rights, and our bank accounts on a daily basis! We need to get a grip, and get real!
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Cost Maine money? Those fines will go into the General Fund. Yipee! Now we can waste it on more DHHS programs!
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The price of eggs are going to go up or the company will close and all the employees will be on welfare. Either way Maine people get shafted, so once again, to the out of state Animal Rights group Thanks D!cks.
Also lets not forget these are the same type of people that just sued Maine and cost taxpayer alot of money (I am unsure of the amount I have heard hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars).
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An Illinois-based organization just cost Maine (us) a ton of money. Thanks D!cks!!!
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Just driving by DeCoster, er, "Quality Eggs" (cough cough) gives me the creeps. The atmosphere of the place reeks of bad juju.
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Went out there a few years ago on a hot summer day to measure some curbing behind 4 of the hen barns. Took me 3 days to get all of the flies out of my car.
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The egg and chicken business are nasty businesses nation wide but that still does not relieve the State from enforcing humane rules. This is just another example of failure of State enforcement.
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Cruelty, lack of accountability and then hissy fits once busted for breaking laws. The soon DeCoster and his family are bankrupted the better, for the workers and the chickens. You want eggs? Go to any of the small local farms or farmer markets and get eggs produced in a humane manner.
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How do you know DeCoster is a Republican, STD or gonorrhea, whatever you're name is today. Democrats hate God and America so why don't you go down to Louisiana and your mouth and your a%&hole to swallow up some oil and do something productive with your useless life and your useless opinions.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.AARRGHH!!! I'll drink to
AARRGHH!!! I'll drink to that, lew.. Parrot, get me me bottle of Capt. Morgan.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond."It shows that the egg
"It shows that the egg industry is incapable of self-regulating itself," Runkle said.
more like the few bad people or people who don't care about anything but the dollar give the egg industry a bad name of being incapable of self-regulating itself. its unfortunate-however it must be done. animals don't have a choice or say... so it is within reason and justifiable cause that they had to investigate for a reason.
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