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Farms Have Killed Off Millions Of Animals As Supply Chains Break. But These Hens Made It Out.

Farms have killed vast numbers of healthy pigs, chickens and other animals as supply chains break down amid the economic devastation of the coronavirus pandemic. But some hens from Iowa are getting a second chance at life.

In May, social media posts circulated saying an egg farm with 140,000 hens was closing and that the birds would be killed. But the farm’s owner made the unusual decision to allow people to come and take the birds at no cost.

“The farmer initially said he was closing because he could not afford to feed all of the birds,” Kelly Holt — executive director of the Michigan animal refuge Barn Sanctuary ― told HuffPost in an email. “We suspected it was because of the current health crisis. ... This seemed like an urgent and last-minute closing.”

The farm declined to comment to HuffPost.

Farms across the United States have killed millions of animals by some estimates as the pandemic has disrupted supply chains.

Slaughterhouse closures made it impossible for some farms to process meat, and even as plants reopen, backlogs mean animals continue to be killed and simply discarded. Reduced demand from the food service industry has also led some farmers to cull their herds and flocks ― including egg-laying chickens ― for financial reasons.

Most of the animals were fated for slaughter anyway, but the current economic situation means that their carcasses are being discarded rather than used for food. And some farms have been accused of using cruel and drawn-out methods to kill their animals.

To rescue the chickens, Barn Sanctuary coordinated with another rescue group, Iowa Farm Sanctuary, to take as many as they could.

On May 11, the groups went to the farm and were led into a large facility where workers were moving birds to boxes to be asphyxiated with carbon dioxide.

“Essentially on one...

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