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The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on the early depletion of hen flocks contracted to a Wisconsin-based egg breaker. According to the article one specific flock of 61,000 birds was euthanized and apparently four others of larger size were also depleted.
The company concerned is a breaker and the offline eggs were destined for a Minnesota plant that has been shuttered due to the sudden drop in demand for pasteurized egg products by the food service industry.
Depending on how the contract was written, the packer may be obliged to pay the contractor for the remainder of the life of the flock, that in this case was scheduled for late-fall depletion. It would be difficult for the breaker to claim force majeure, as the decision to deplete the flock was not based on a catastrophic event such as a tornado or flood, but was a financially expedient decision.
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Photo courtesy of Star-Tribune |
An interesting note is the comment by the contractor who observed that the service crew "came in with carts, put them (hens) all in carts, wheeled them up to the end, put a hose in their cart and gassed them”. Surely this is improper practice. Depleted hens should be placed in kill carts flushed with carbon dioxide. In this particular instance, it appears that the hens were allowed to smother in the carts and then were subjected to token exposure to carbon dioxide after the effect.
Shuttered Minnesota Egg processing plant