Scots egg firm shut down after 2000 hens left to die on estate with no food or water

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A free-range egg firm was shut down after it was found littered with dead hens which had been left in horrendous living conditions with no food or water.Peter Armitage, who was the former owner and director of Caithness Free Range Eggs Ltd, has been jailed for causing suffering to 2,000 hens in his care.

The 41-year-old was found guilty of a string of sickening animal and hygiene welfare offences, which took place at Lochquoy Farm in Durran, by Castletown, between September 2016 and September 2017.Wick Sheriff Court today heard how thousands of hens were left to die in the hands of Armitage, who neglected them and left the animals without food and water.

Their corpses were later found hanging out the mouths of pigs during an unannounced inspection by Highland Council. The grim conditions were brought to the attention of the local authority following an anonymous email in July 2017, which stated: "Rats and dead chickens lying everywhere the place is disgusting they need shut down, this place is not up to standards for any animal to live in, the poor chickens look like they are dying".

During several inspections carried out by the council's animal welfare team, the carcasses of decomposing birds and rats were found littered across the estate.