An investigation into the alleged disposal into a Dumpster of live chickens from one of Moark 's egg-laying operations is expected to reach the Newton County prosecutor.

Newton County Sheriff Ken Copeland said the remaining interviews were completed, concluding a week-long investigation into alleged animal cruelty by one of the egg producer's subcontractors.  "It will be up to the prosecutor whether to pursue charges," said Copeland.

The allegations stem from a video-camera recording made by Rick Bussey, a Newton County resident who is opposed to Moark 's expansion plans. The recordings, made July 7 and July 8, allegedly show live chickens being dumped into a Dumpster at Moark 's Hathaway Farm site off Route D, a mile east of the Neosho city limits.

Dan Hudgens, Moark 's Midwest regional manager, has said a subcontractor was "in a bit of hurry" and didn't allow enough time for the chickens to die after they were gassed. The tape allegedly shows birds being carried by a conveyer belt and dumped into a disposal bin.

Hudgens said the matter was immediately addressed and corrected, and Moark employees monitored the subcontractor until the job of disposing of the birds was complete. He also said it is not uncommon for a bird to be "passed up" during the gassing, but also acknowledged the subcontractor was not following correct procedures.

Hudgens said the subcontractor was hauling away for disposal aged birds from a house containing more than 1,000 birds.

The Missouri Humane Society also is investigating the matter.

Update 7/30/05:  Misdemeanor animal abuse charges have been filed against a southwest Missouri egg producer after a man videotaped live chickens being dumped from a conveyer into a trash bin.

Newton County Prosecutor Scott Watson also filed misdemeanor animal abuse charges against Dan Hudgens, Moark 's Midwest regional manager, and subcontractors William Sharp and Robert Beck.

The charges stem from a video that authorities said showed Moark contractors dumping live chickens from a conveyer belt into a trash container, smothering them.

Before the video was given to law enforcement authorities, it had been shown at the Newton County Fair and posted on the Internet.  Among those viewing the video at the fair was Rep. Kevin Wilson, R-Neosho, who asked Moark for an explanation.

Hudgens has said the birds were aged chickens that were to be taken to a rendering plant.  The chickens were supposed to be loaded into a 55-gallon drum that was pumped full of carbon dioxide, which was to kill the chickens before they were taken to the rendering plant.

"The focus of this is not the chickens which were killed and disposed of properly," said Watson.  "The focus is entirely on the number of chickens that were not only shown on the video as being still alive when they were dumped, and by Moark 's own admission, the 200 that were dumped without being gassed at all."

The charges come as Moark is seeking approval from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to expand its business by building 13 chicken houses holding 200,000 chickens each.

Crowder College's board of directors and Wilson have opposed the plan, citing the company's pollution record and the expansion's potential affect on the area's water supply.

Update 8/23/05:  Pretrial hearings have been scheduled for Sept. 7 for three people who allegedly were involved in dumping live chickens at one of Moark 's egg operations in Newton County.

Moark 's regional manager, Dan Hudgens, and two subcontractors, William Sharp and Robert Beck, were arraigned in the Associate Division of Newton County Circuit Court on misdemeanor charges of animal abuse.

They are charged with purposely killing an unspecified number of chickens in an unlawful manner.

Moark also is charged as a corporation. It has waived arraignment and is scheduled for a court conference Aug. 31 on how the case will proceed.

Hudgens and Moark have filed for dismissal of the charges.

Update 9/1/05: A Newton County judge has scheduled a jury trial for Dec. 8 on a misdemeanor charge of animal abuse against Moark Industries.  Associate Judge Greg Stremel set the proceeding during a pretrial conference.

Missouri's animal-cruelty law protects all vertebrate animals, including chickens, from abuse and neglect. A violation is a Class A misdemeanor except for cases of torture or mutilation, when a violation becomes a Class D felony.

Update 10/2/05:   Residents struggle to describe the scent that floats over Neosho, a town of 10,000 known as the "Flower Box Capital" and where Big Spring burbles into view just beyond the downtown square. The smell has the dense aroma of ammonia. It pops up with regularity and varies with the wind. "In the morning, it's just deadly," Bussey said.

Bussey was driving the rural highway that cuts past Moark 's chicken houses, a series of low-slung metal warehouses with giant fans on one end. Bussey uses this road to get home. Sitting just off the highway is Crowder College, a two-year school with 2,000 students. The school's trustees voted in June to issue a statement asking the Department of Natural Resources to reject Moark 's permit request because of concerns about increased odor and water pollution.

Manure is a major water pollution concern. The waterways in this area are stressed from years of nutrient-laden runoff. Companies like Moark, called concentrated animal feeding operations, face regulation of how they dispose of their waste. Moark sells most of it to farmers for fertilizing fields. Bussey used to use it on his field.

Bussey pointed to a small turnoff near a chicken house. That is where he shot his video. He was driving his daughter to softball practice on July 7 when something caught his eye. He saw a conveyor belt tossing chickens into a tractor trailer. Some of the chickens appeared to move and try to fly away. He drove home and retrieved his video camera. .

Dan Hudgens, Midwest division manager for Moark , sat in his office below a map filled with colored push pins marking Moark 's reach. The company has facilities in more than a dozen states. It is the nation's third largest egg producer and is owned by Land O'Lakes and an investment group begun by the man who created the company in southwest Missouri in 1965. The company sells eggs under the names of Eggland's Best and Land O'Lakes All-Natural Farm Fresh Eggs. In Neosho, the plant employs 155 workers and would add 67 more if the permit is approved.

Hudgens said Moark 's DNR permit was about modernization. The company wants to build 13 new chicken houses. Each one would stretch for 436 feet, cages running the length of the building and eight high. A single chicken house would contain 200,700 hens.

The egg business, like many sectors of the economy, has felt the pressure to grow or get out. Forty years back, a chicken house might hold 10,000 hens and be owned by a single farmer. The newest chicken houses hold at least 200,000 and are run by companies. Hudgens said other egg companies use even larger houses, but he wasn't comfortable with that.

Neosho was not Moark 's first choice for new chicken houses. The company tried last year to build in Kansas and Oklahoma but faced a mix of community opposition.

"I felt we should invest our money in Missouri upgrading our facilities," Hudgens said.

How many chickens would be left in Neosho if Moark wins approval is disputed. The company runs two other chicken facilities in Missouri, both in neighboring counties, with a total of 2.9 million birds among the three. According to the company, the net effect would be 3.5 million birds. But some residents question Moark 's numbers.

The egg business is run with scientific precision. Hudgens knows that 82.5 percent of the hens can be expected to lay one egg a day. He knows how much water each bird drinks. He knows the exact moisture content of the manure and how manipulating that will reduce odor. That is key because each new chicken house would produce 6 tons of fresh manure each day. Much of the smell should be eradicated by getting the manure moisture down to 50 percent, which the new houses are designed for, Hudgens said.

"Everything is geared toward making the chicken comfortable so she's productive," Hudgens said. "The end result is everybody will be better off."

Moark is gambling that its operating permit will be approved. Three new chicken houses already have been built. They are empty for now. "I guess we could end up with a big blunder, but we're doing it right," Hudgens said.

They were doing it right, with Moark 's permit moving along smoothly, despite opposition, until the animal abuse charges. Hudgens is one of the accused.

He didn't deny that live chickens were thrown away with dead ones. In the industry, hens that no longer produce eggs are called "spent hens." Moark guidelines call for spent hens to be euthanized in a 55-gallon drum with carbon monoxide. Workers are supposed to watch for chickens that survived the procedure and perform an approved "cervical dislocation." The job fell to a three-man crew hired by Moark , Hudgens said.  "On that particular evening, they just weren't being patient," he said.

Hudgens said the incident and resulting charges have been difficult for him. He said he's always been dedicated to doing things the right way. "Was there a failure that night? Absolutely," he said. "Was there animal abuse? I guess that depends on the definition of animal abuse."

Everyone wants to know what Doyle Childers thinks. As director of the Department of Natural Resources, he alone decides whether Moark should be allowed to operate the new chicken houses. Childers said in an interview that he was inclined to allow Moark to replace its old chicken houses with new ones. "The big decision is if they expand," he said.

Childers said the animal abuse charges do not officially factor into his decision, because the permit deals with questions of water quality. But it did worry him.  "I'm not in a rush to do this. I want to make sure we take everything into consideration," Childers said.

Representatives of the state agency have been meeting with residents to hear their concerns. Wes Nall, retired Neosho postmaster, and his wife, Vera, met with an agency official last week. They joined the opposition after hearing about Bussey's video. Now, they drive around in a Buick with an orange hat in the back window reading, "Chickens Don't Vote."  "This is the first thing that I've been this passionate about," said Wes Nall, 68.

Another couple fighting Moark is Mark Adams and May Belle Osborne. She is the sister of Hollis Osborne, the man who started Moark years ago and remains a board member. Adams worked at Moark for a decade.

Despite their ties, they have worked hard to stop Moark 's new permit. They helped gather 3,500 names on a petition against the company. They've been frustrated by the lack of city and county politicians willing to take a stand one way or the other.  "I feel responsible we didn't pay attention to this a long time ago," said May Belle Osborne, 63.

And the fight has changed how people here view their familiar neighbor with the 1 million hens.  "I think everybody carries field glasses and cameras with them now," Adams said.

Update 10/22/05:  The company does not have to admit guilt. There will be no trial. And, the local Humane Society will be $100,000 richer.

But Rick Bussey has a problem with all three, which are pegs of the deal announced by Newton County Prosecutor Scott Watson in connection with the dropping of animal-abuse charges against egg producer Moark.  He was also wondering why he hadn't been informed beforehand.

Update 10/23/05:  An egg producer from Chesterfield agreed to pay the Neosho Humane Society $100,000 following misdemeanor animal abuse charges for the way it disposed of some chickens in southwest Missouri, prosecutors said.

Newton County Prosecutor Scott Watson said the charges, filed in July against Moark, an employee and two subcontractors, have been dismissed. As part of the agreement, Moark officials will install new equipment to euthanize its chickens more humanely.

During the investigation, Moark admitted to dumping 200 hens before they were dead, Watson said.

Pat Lesueur, city clerk and one of the Humane Society's original board members, said she's excited. In four years, the organization had collected only about $18,000 to build an animal shelter for stray dogs in Newton and McDonald counties.

Dan Hudgens, Moark's Midwest regional manager and the employee charged in the case, said the reason live chickens were being dumped was because the aged chickens or "spent hens" did not stay in a barrel of carbon dioxide for the full four minutes needed to kill them before going to a rendering plant. Hudgens said fresh air revived them when they were put on a conveyor belt.

Moark officials have since promised to have a supervisor on site when chickens are destroyed, and the new equipment will end the practice of suffocating chickens in 55-gallon drums.

Update 11/22/06:  Missouri officials are reviewing a Neosho egg producer's response to an odor complaint before determining whether to take further steps that could include fines up to $10,000 a day.

The company, Moark , was cited Nov. 3 by the Department of Natural Resources for excessive odor emissions at the plant.

Moark had about two weeks to let the DNR know whether the excessive odor was caused by an equipment problem.

If it was, the state could stop further action and outline corrective steps for Moark to take. But if the problem can't be attributed to equipment, Moark would be subject to penalties up to $10,000 a day per violation.

DNR spokeswoman Renee Bungart said Moark 's response was received in the mail and is being reviewed by the department's air pollution control staff.

Residents have been watching Moark closely since the DNR granted the company a permit last year to triple the size of its Neosho operation to nearly 4 million chickens.

Update 11/14/07:  Investigators said mechanical failure caused a fire that damaged a chicken-processing plant near Anderson.

Shelby Turner, chief of the Anderson Fire Department, said the fire is believed to have started about 3:30 a.m. in an air compressor in "the tunnel," a portion of the plant that connected two of the chicken houses to the processing room.  "The corridor is centrally located," Turner said. "(The fire) just spread everywhere."  He said at least 2,000 chickens are believed to have been killed in the fire.

Investigators with the Missouri Division of Fire Safety said the cause of the fire is believed to be mechanical failure in the compressor.  Damage is estimated at more than $5 million, and production at the Moark plant is expected to be affected.  "I'm sure it will somewhat," said Chris Thompson, one of the state investigators, of the potential impact of the damage. "They lost a lot of facility there."

An official with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources said steps were taken to keep runoff from the firefighting operation from entering a nearby creek.  "They dug a trench and redirected runoff to an old pond on the property," said Larry Archer, DNR spokesman.

Four buildings -- the production area, a cooler and two chicken houses -- were damaged in the blaze, according to investigators.

Update 10/8/08:  Moark LLC was among 13 major U.S. egg producers and three egg-trade groups that were sued late last week in Pennsylvania federal court. Moark also is a co-defendant in three other similar suits - two in Pennsylvania and one in Minnesota - filed in late September.

All four suits allege that U.S. egg producers conspired to "artificially control and reduce the supply of eggs" with the intent to create "artificially high, supra competitive prices for eggs" in recent years.

The suit filed last week claims that egg producers lowered the supply of eggs by reducing the number of hens allowed in a cage and then not increasing the total number of cages to make up for that. The suit says the change was made in the name of animal welfare but had "absolutely nothing to do with humane practices."

The suit also claims that egg producers exported eggs first to Europe and the Middle East, then to Japan and Iraq, at a level below prevailing U.S. market prices to reduce the domestic supply and trigger a price increase.

Moark is a subsidiary of Land O'Lakes Inc. and is based in Minnesota, with operations in California, Connecticut and Neosho.

Reference:

Columbia Daily Tribune

Joplin Globe

Springfield News-Leader

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Jefferson City News-Tribune