Moark and the Cruelty Code of State of Missouri
July 09, 2005
For an 8:30 a.m. arraignment on August 22, 2005 in the Div. II courtroom of Judge Gregory Stremel in Newton County, MOARK INDUSTRIES of Neosho must defend charges against them of animal abuse, a Class A misdemeanor based on State law references: Animal abuse, RSMo 578.012..


In this still taken from a video the chicken seen flapping its wings is about to land in the dumpster at MoArk in Neosho. Others can be seen on the conveyor belt about to have the same fate. Once in the dumpster the chickens were seen continuing to flap their wings until apparently suffocated by the birds that followed. Click on the Neosho Forums link to see the full video taken on Highway D by Rick Bussey. When Rep. Kevin Wilson was shown the video, he reportedly said, "This is bad." The video documenting MoArk's inhumane disposal of live chickens was played at the Newton County Fair which ended July 9. At the same time MoArk officials were bidding some big bucks on some of the kids' prize chickens.


What a pleasant night this past Thursday evening was. Just a few hours before sundown and the Newton County Fair was well underway in its first day. Freshly scrubbed young faces and families were proudly displaying the results of their hard work and pride. The young people involved in FFA were proudly showing livestock of all kinds. A keen demonstration of proper livestock care and animal husbandry was evident everywhere.

About two miles east of the county fair grounds another display was taking place. This ugly display was the opposite of what was taking place at the fairgrounds livestock pavilion. A conveyor belt coming out of the end of an egg layer house was laden with chickens. As the belt moved the birds up and away from the building, numerous birds could be seen moving about and flapping as they exited off the end of the conveyor to be dropped into a commercial size trash dumpster. Some of the birds flew off the end of the conveyor into the dumpster while others just dropped off. The large roll-off style dumpster appeared to be full, with the flapping of birds wings visible above the top edge of the dumpster. This event was taking place at a Moark/Land O’ Lakes egg laying complex on D Highway East of Crowder College in Neosho, MO. The video can be viewed at Neosho Forums along with commentary from the Humane Society of the United States.

How ironic. I hope that most of the County Fair participants and attendees did not witness such a blatant display of animal cruelty and poor animal husbandry. I think the young and aspiring farmers and livestock owners at the fair could show Moark a thing or two.

With a Moark / Land O’Lakes expansion in Neosho coming under intense scrutiny and criticism from thousands of citizens, the local college, the state representative and even another state, this latest episode showing a profound lack of concern for animal welfare is like pouring gasoline on the fire.

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 ThreadAuthorViewsRepliesLast Post Date

MoArk's treatment of chickens labeled scummye-irvin264402005-07-30 10:49:01