Thousands of chickens culled as Daybreak Farms faces abandonment crisis
Over 100 NSPCA staff and volunteers were called in to assisst.
Image: NSPCA
Urgent inspections by the National Council of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) at Daybreak Farms have revealed severely neglected poultry and resulted in the culling of thousands of birds.
Despite direct engagement with the state-owned poultry producer and issuing an official warning over the denial of feed and the suffering of vulnerable animals, Daybreak has failed to take action, the NSPCA said.
On Wednesday, April 30, the NSPCA was alerted to the dire situation of 200,000 birds at a Daybreak contract grower who were without feed for days, resulting in mass cannibalism.
“The birds were over 28 days old but weighed under 700 grams. Daybreak Foods was contacted, and through urgent intervention, the NSPCA was granted consent to cull.
"A poultry veterinarian also assessed the birds and confirmed they could not be salvaged. This resulted in approximately 200,000 birds being culled over two days,” the organisation said.
GRAPHIC IMAGE
Thousands of chickens had to be culled.
Image: NSPCA
On May 1, Daybreak Foods corresponded with the NSPCA and revealed they were no longer able to supply feed and authorised the organisation to dispose of the chickens.
“Effectively abandoning the birds to starvation, Daybreak cited financial collapse as its reason for ceasing operations. Faced with an animal welfare catastrophe, the NSPCA and Gauteng SPCAs had no choice but to intervene.”
“Daybreak’s original plan, which was to transport the birds to its abattoir in a last-ditch attempt to salvage their feet, was rejected by Veterinary Public Health officials. The emaciated birds were too small for the slaughter equipment, particularly the leg shackles and stunning bath, raising serious risks of inadequate stunning and inhumane slaughter,” the NSPCA said.
Over 100 NSPCA staff and volunteers were called in to assist.
“In the days following, more farms were uncovered with shocking cruelty and starvation. The mass culling began on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, and continued until May 5, 2025. Since 01 May 2025, the NSPCA has rescued and placed over 500,000 birds on rearing farms. With the assistance of a producer, these birds received suitable feed after being denied food for several days,” it said.
“Unfortunately, over 350,000 birds from various farms could not be salvaged and had to be humanely culled. The mortalities on each farm were a shocking indication of how long these birds were denied feed. At various sites, staff had not been paid, and the stench was unbearable, with thousands of mortalities unremoved from houses,” the NSPCA said.
The organisation said it was a harrowing scene with skeletal chickens huddled together, feeding lines stripped bare, some birds reportedly without food for more than seven days.
Manager of the NSPCA’s Farm Animal Protection Unit, Senior Inspector Nazareth Appalsamy, could barely put into words what they saw.
“This was one of the most emotionally and physically taxing operations our team has ever faced. We were not there to save lives; we were there to end suffering. And that breaks every one of us,” Appalsamy said.
The NSPCA said, despite intense media attention and public outrage, not one offer of support came from Daybreak.
“It was our men and women in blue and white who stood between these animals and unrelenting suffering. The NSPCA will pursue full prosecution of Daybreak for abandonment, neglect, and unnecessary cruelty. The NSPCA will be initiating criminal charges under the Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962 against Daybreak’s Board of Directors.”
“Rather than taking accountability, Daybreak chose to wash its hands of the crisis, dumping the responsibility onto the NSPCA. This disaster proves, once again, that when profit fails, compassion is left to pick up the pieces. The question we must all ask is, what would have happened if we were not there?” the organisation asked.
It also expressed its gratitude to colleagues from local SPCAs from Alberton, Benoni, Boksburg, Brakpan, Edenvale, Germiston, Heidelberg, Johannesburg, Kempton Park, Midrand, Nigel, Parys, Randburg, Randwest, Roodepoort, Sandton, Springs, and Tshwane who made the intervention possible.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
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