Dutch police are investigating who killed ten chickens in the city of Oldenzaal, in the east of the country. The brown broiler chickens were found in a garbage bag, dumped near Twente airport.
In a Facebook post, police said on Sunday that the chickens appear to have been killed in a cruel way. “Further forensic and pathological investigation will show whether a criminal offence has been committed here,” they added.
While it’s unknown how the animals were killed, police think the chickens could have been used to train dogs for dogfighting. They are calling on witnesses or anyone with more information to come forward.
Employees of the Dutch animal ambulance found the dead animals on Wednesday.
Broiler chickens
A broiler is a chicken that is bred and raised specifically for meat production. Most commercial broilers kill the chickens when they’re between four and seven weeks of age.
Each year the Netherlands kills between 40 to 50 million broiler chickens. In 2020, 49.2 million broiler chickens were killed in the country.
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