48 / Chapter 2
In an exemplary illustration of the ambivalence with which we
regard animals, the farmer explained that he was an “animal lover”
and did not want the birds to suffer. As Walker recalls, he could
not see how the birds suffered under their normal treatment as
broiler hens.
In another instance, Walker describes the farm workers’ efforts
to spare a few birds despite burying thousands. The shells of four
sheds remained standing, with carcasses everywhere. In one shed,
she recalled, the fl oor was a foot and a half thick with carcasses.
There were some live birds remaining among the dead. Walker
started gathering up the injured and placing them together near
water bowls that she set out, creating several islands of birds who
might revive. Walker and Sturla left the facility to get supplies and
planned to return at night to capture the birds. When they returned,
the workers had plowed and buried the shed. However, they had
taken the trouble to plow around the little islands Walker had cre-
ated, sparing a few birds while burying tens of thousands of others.
With assistance from the Humane Society, Walker and Sturla
rescued nearly a thousand chickens from the facility. The birds
were transported to Animal Place and Farm Sanctuary, both in Cal-
ifornia, and to other sanctuaries for farmed animals. In addition,
because many people are willing to adopt hens, they are easier to
rescue than larger animals.
The Buckeye Farm Disaster
While companion birds such as parrots, cockatiels, and parakeets
were being rescued from the homes of New Orleans, chickens were
being buried alive in Mississippi. The scene repeated itself in Geor-
gia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida. Hurricane Katrina, however,
was only the latest example of the vulnerability posed by factory
farming, particularly to chickens.
On September 20, 2000, several tornadoes destroyed twelve lay-
ing sheds at the Buckeye Egg Farm outside of Croton, Ohio.^18 At the
time, the fi fteen million hens held at the Buckeye facility made Ohio
the largest egg-producing state in the country. Over a million birds