(AU) ACTIVIST IN JAIL

[Coral Hull]

....Online Release 13th May 1998.... Action Rescue Team/Action Magazine
PO BOX 15 Elwood VIC 3184 Tel:61-3-9531-4367 Fax: 61-3-9531-4257

URGENT UPDATE: AUSTRALIAN ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST LOCKED UP

Patty Mark is the Editor of Action Magazine and runs the Action Animal
Rescue Team in Melbourne, Victoria Australia. She is being held in
Geelong lock-up awaiting trail on a trespass charge. She has refused to
sign bail and is presently on the 5th day of her hunger strike.

Happy Hens Egg World is one of the largest battery hen farms in Victoria
Australia. It has over 9 sheds on the property each containing 22,000
hens each. Activists who entered the sheds on the weekend found cages
overstocked with birds. Every second cage in shed for had 5 hens inside
it. Activists have marked these cages with black marking tape on the
feeding troughs for the convenience of the RSPCA inspectors.

Many hens are sick and dying, suffering from broken wings and bones,
self inflicted mutilations caused from stressful overcrowded conditions,
and many have serious eye problems. Dozens of hens were discovered to
have fallen out of their cages down into the manure pits and are being
eaten alive by hundreds of rats. Activists had rats all around them as
they waded through the manure pits in order to get to the hens in cages
directly above them.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?!..........................................

Patty Mark is urging everyone to jam the lines of the RSPCA headquarters
in Melbourne, Australia demanding that they inspect the sheds at Happy
Hens Egg World and prosecute these farmers with cruelty immediately.
Please phone and fax the RSPCA as much as you can!! PLEASE KEEP THE
PRESSURE ON!!!! A day in jail without food is a long day but a night in
the manure pits being eaten alive by rats is hell:

Ring these numbers and demand that the RSPCA attend Happy Hens Egg World
and prosecute these farmers for cruelty immediately.

Richard Hunter
Ph: +61-3-9224-2222
Fax: +61-3-9224-2200

Patty will be spending her 49th birthday inside jail fighting for the
hens at Happy Hens Egg World. Please ring and fax her your support and
demand her immediate release.

Geelong Police Station
Ph: +61-3-5225-3100
Fax: +61-3-5225-3104

Ring Happy Hens Egg World in Meredith Victoria and tell them what you
think of their cruel operation.

Un-Happy Hens Egg World
Ph: +61-3-52861-400

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For further information and updates ring Debra Tranter on
+61-3-9753-5640 or +61-3-9531-4367. Thank you for your kind support.

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Coral Hull
Animal Watch Australia
http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/animal_watch/au.html