The National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) has revealed one of South Africa’s most devastating animal welfare disasters to date, with more than one million chickens discovered starving, neglected and abandoned at Daybreak Farms — a state-funded poultry operation. The scandal has prompted the NSPCA to initiate criminal charges against Daybreak’s Board of Directors under the Animals Protection Act.
Chickens left without feed at Daybreak Farms
Inspections launched at the end of April exposed a harrowing crisis. On 30 April 2025, the NSPCA received a complaint alerting them to 200,000 birds at a Daybreak Farms contract grower site that had been left without feed for days, leading to widespread cannibalism. The birds, more than 28 days old, weighed under 700 grams — well below healthy developmental standards. The situation was deemed so dire that a poultry veterinarian, upon assessing the animals, declared them unsalvageable. The NSPCA was given consent to cull, leading to the mass euthanasia of around 200,000 birds over two days.
By 01 May, Daybreak Foods, citing financial collapse, formally informed the NSPCA that it could no longer provide feed. The company, funded with public money, effectively abandoned the animals and authorised the NSPCA to “dispose” of them — a move that has sparked widespread outrage and concern over the use of state resources.
Very emotional
“This was one of the most emotionally and physically taxing operations our team has ever faced,” said Senior Inspector Nazareth Appalsamy, Manager of the NSPCA’s Farm Animal Protection Unit. “We were not there to save lives; we were there to end suffering. And that breaks every one of us.”
Daybreak’s proposal to send the starving birds to its abattoir was blocked by Veterinary Public Health officials, who found the birds too small for standard slaughter equipment. The risk of inhumane killing — due to improper leg shackling and ineffective stunning — was deemed unacceptable.
In response, the NSPCA mobilised a team of over 100 staff and volunteers across multiple branches to manage the unfolding crisis. Between 30 April and 5 May, culling and rescue operations were carried out at several farms. Over 500,000 birds were saved and relocated to rearing farms with proper feeding facilities. However, more than 350,000 birds were found beyond recovery and had to be humanely euthanised.
Inspectors reported scenes of appalling neglect. “Skeletal chickens were huddled together, feeding lines stripped bare, with some birds reportedly without food for over seven days,” said Appalsamy. “The stench was overwhelming. At many sites, thousands of dead birds lay uncollected.”
SPCA left to carry Daybreak Farms burden
Despite the growing media attention and the public’s outcry, the NSPCA stated that no support — financial or logistical — has been offered by Daybreak. “Yet again, when industrial agriculture fails, it is the SPCA, a non-profit organisation, left to carry the burden,” the council said in its official statement.
The NSPCA will now pursue full legal action against Daybreak’s leadership, including laying criminal charges for abandonment, neglect and unnecessary cruelty. According to the council, this catastrophe raises troubling questions about oversight, accountability and the moral responsibility of corporate agriculture.
“What would have happened if we weren’t there? This disaster proves, once again, that when profit fails, compassion is left to pick up the pieces.”
The organisation also extended gratitude to the SPCA branches that participated in the emergency response, including teams from Alberton, Benoni, Boksburg, Brakpan, Edenvale, Germiston, Heidelberg, Johannesburg, Kempton Park, Midrand, Nigel, Parys, Randburg, Randwest, Roodepoort, Sandton, Springs, and Tshwane.
The NSPCA has vowed not to rest until justice is served.
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