At Daybreak Foods, a state-owned poultry company in South Africa, hundreds of thousands of chickens were left unfed for more than a week, leading to desperate and shocking scenes of cannibalism. In late April 2025, the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) discovered dried feeding lines, skeletal remains, and emaciated birds resorting to eating each other to survive.
The NSPCA teams faced a grim task: more than 350,000 chickens, deemed beyond recovery, were euthanized by hand, while over 500,000 others were rescued and relocated to other farms for rehabilitation. The organization described the operation as one of the most emotionally and physically taxing actions its staff have ever undertaken.
Daybreak Foods attributed the crisis to financial collapse that halted feed delivery. Investigations later revealed the misuse of approximately 1.4 billion rand in public funds, prompting calls for criminal investigations against board members for neglect and animal cruelty. A High Court order required Daybreak to cease inhumane culling and allow NSPCA unrestricted access to ensure proper feeding and care.
This disaster underscores institutional failure abandoned farms, unpaid workers, and animals suffering due to administrative collapse. It highlights a critical need for real accountability in publicly funded enterprises responsible for animal welfare.
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