Tuesday August 18, 2009, 11:59 am
Thank you Tierney for this forward.

UPC Tells Little Rhody Egg Farms Owner: Stop Starving Your Hens!
Many Letters Have Been Sent, More Are Needed. Please Send A Message!







In March, United Poultry Concerns adopted 13 suffering hens into our sanctuary, just as they were being transferred in crates from Little Rhody Egg Farms, a battery hen operation in Rhode Island, to Antonelli’s squalid poultry market in Providence, Rhode Island. We learned in the course of our investigation that Little Rhody force molts the company’s hens by taking away all their food until they have lost from 15 to 20 percent of their body weight. www.upc-online.org/summer2009/little_rhody_starving_hens.html.



Speaking to UPC members, farm owner Eli Berkowitz has sought to justify this fantastic cruelty by comparing it to religious fasting. In the letter below, UPC President Karen Davis explains to Mr. Berkowitz that “fasting” is a voluntary act - you cannot “fast” others, only yourself. In an email to Mr. Berkowitz, UPC member Elliot Friedman reminds him that from a religious and a humanitarian standpoint, “One is obligated to feed their animals.”



Forcing hens to molt by starving them has been condemned by United Egg Producers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, and the Scientific Veterinary Committee for the European Union.



Please contact Mr. Berkowitz at the address below. Phone: 800-746-3934. 401-397-3033. Fax: 401-397-3403. Email: elib@littlerhodyfoodsinc.com.

Thank you for speaking up for the Little Rhody Hens - Debeaked, Caged, Starved.

Tuesday August 18, 2009, 12:00 pm
Urge Little Rhody to discontinue the practice of force molting the company’s hens by depriving them of all food. Point out that force molting hens by food deprivation is no longer accepted by any reputable profession including the American Veterinary Medical Association. Ask Mr. Berkowitz for a written reply stating what the company is going to do.

Eli Berkowitz, Owner
Little Rhody Egg Farms
69 Cucumber Hill Road
Foster, RI 02825
Phone: 800-746-3934
Phone: 401-397-3033
Fax: 401-397-3403
Email: Info@littlerhodyfoodsinc.com
Website: http://littlerhodyfoodsinc.com

Tuesday August 18, 2009, 1:36 pm
Thank you so much for doing this news story Simone! I already sent e-mail but many more are needed or call the toll free number.

Tuesday August 18, 2009, 4:29 pm
My email returned:
"A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its
recipients. This is a permanent error. The following address(es) failed:

denised@littlerhodyfoodsinc.com
(generated from info@littlerhodyfoodsinc.com)
mailbox is full: retry timeout exceeded"

I'll send them a postcard!

Thursday August 20, 2009, 11:40 am
Thanks Simone