A Georgia man faces charges of felony aggravated cruelty to animals and cruelty to animals after allegedly turning off the water supply to poultry houses.
According to a report from the Athens Banner-Herald, the suspect, Huy Dang Nguyen, is a disgruntled former employee of a farm that is a contract grower for Pilgrim’s Pride.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) began investigating the Nguyen after both the owners of the farm and Pilgrim’s Pride reported problems with him. The farm owners had terminated Nguyen’s employment and ordered him to leave the property, which included six broiler houses.
While Nguyen appeared to have left the farm, a Pilgrim’s Pride supervisor reported to MCSD authorities that he received a signal on his computer that the temperature in the poultry houses was rising significantly. The farm owners checked the houses to find that the water supply to all six houses had been turned off.
A water supply was essential to the birds’ survival, not only for the chickens to drink, but also because the buildings’ cooling systems required water.
MCSO Capt. Jimmy Patton told the Banner-Herald the birds were “in distress,” but they “didn’t die because they caught it on time.”
It is believed that Nguyen allegedly shut off the water supply because he was mad at the farm owners and he “wanted to kill the chickens” as a form of retaliation.
Nguyen had reportedly been living at the farm in Madison County, but he was arrested at his mother’s home in Paulding County.
The chickens at the Madison County farm were moved to another property. The contract with the Madison County farm was suspended by Pilgrim’s Pride, pending an investigation. However, the news outlet reported that the farm owners were understanding of Pilgrim’s decision and have been cooperating with the MSCO investigation.
