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Multi-Colored Peeps Find Place to Land in Watkins Glen

Nearly 50 baby chicks were seized from a Brooklyn pet store and brought to Farm Sanctuary

Watkins Glen, NY - April 19, 2007 - Forty-nine dyed baby chicks are among some of the most recent arrivals at Farm Sanctuary’s Watkins Glen shelter. Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal shelter and advocacy organization, opened its barn doors to the peeps on April 8.

New York City ASPCA humane agents seized the chicks from a pet store in Brooklyn after being tipped off by an anonymous caller. New York City law prohibits the sale of chicks displayed or characterized as “dyed.” It also outlaws the possession of roosters within the city, and approximately half of the group is male.

The weeks-old peeps are green, orange, red, pink, purple, and blue. Only their down feathers have been affected by the dye. Adult plumage on their wings has already started growing in at its normal color, and, as adults, the chicks likely will not exhibit any of the visual effects of the dye

Though unusual, the availability of dyed peeps is more prevalent in the spring, when a spike in the purchase of baby chicks coincides with the Easter holiday. The animals are given as gifts, but, once grown, prove difficult to keep for those unfamiliar with the species’ needs. Some hens and roosters are abandoned at shelters, others are dumped in the wild, where the former pets stand little chance of survival.

“Dyeing these birds is an attempt to downgrade their existence from sentient beings to holiday trinkets,” said Farm Sanctuary Shelter Director Susie Coston. “It’s not cute. It’s not seasonal. It’s not festive. It’s the misappropriation of these animals’ normal growth and development for the buyer’s temporary entertainment.”

The arrival of the dyed chicks followed on the heels of another rescue from a flagrant case of neglect. Six pigs, severely malnourished and suffering from mange, came to the sanctuary April 7 and are the result of a still-pending cruelty investigation. They are three to four months old and have responded well to a steady food source, fluids and health care.

These pigs and the dyed chicks join more than 700 other farm animals rescued from cruelty and neglect housed at Farm Sanctuary’s New York Shelter, which opens for tours May 5.

About Farm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the "food animal" industry through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming. Additional information can be found at www.farmsanctuary.org or by calling 607-583-2225.