For Immediate Release
March 1, 2005
ALF Liberates12 Ducklings from Factory Farm in California
Tranquility, CA- On Sunday morning, members of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) liberated 12 ducklings from Woodland Farms, where they were being raised so their flesh could be sold for human consumption. A communiqué received by the North American Animal Liberation Press Office today states the ducks were placed in a safe home where they would remain free from human exploitation.
The communiqué from the ALF reads in part: “In the early morning hours of February 27, 2005, we liberated 12 ducklings from 29755 W. Jefferson Avenue, Tranquility, CA 93668, a farm owned by Woodland Farms, a subsidiary of Maple Leaf Farms. Maple Leaf Farms, the largest producer of duck meat in North America, murders over 14 million ducks each year.
Ducks are waterfowl. In the wild, they spend a great deal of their day in water, immersing themselves in it and preening. The ducklings that we rescued from the Woodland Farm in Tranquility would never have seen a body of water during their short lives in the factory farm. Now at least these 12 ducklings are in a loving home where they can swim every day and live out their natural lives free of oppression. Until all animals are free, a.l.f.”
According to Viva!USA, a non-profit, above-ground organization based in Davis, CA that campaigns against the use of ducks for food, there is currently only one major duck farm in the U.S — Maple Leaf Farms and its subsidiary Woodland Farms.
Each year, approximately 24 million ducks are killed for food; like other animals raised for food, ducks are not protected by the Animal Welfare Act. Thousands are stocked in each factory unit, and the filth often results in painful ammonia burns from rising urine levels. Most birds never feel the sun, wind, or rain on their backs just artificial light. Those kept on wire floors often suffer from untreated abrasions, bruises, and tears on their feet. Unsurprisingly, many ducks become diseased and die.
For more information on the factory farming of ducks including undercover farm video footage, see the Viva!USA website at http://www.vivausa.org/ducks/. Or contact them at 530/759-8482.