Okay can you spot the REAL criminals here?

[Zalatix]

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/weird-wide-web/man-kills-70000-chickens-while-drunk

Man kills 70,000 chickens while drunk

Joshua Shelton may need a detox. After having one drink too many, Shelton accidentally killed 70,000 chickens.

Joshua D. Shelton must be experiencing the hangover of a lifetime.

According to sheriffs officials, the 21-year-old man of Delmar, Md., was wandering around a poultry farm after one cocktail too many when he turned off the power to three chicken houses, causing the deaths of nearly 70,000 chickens.

Lt. Tim Robinson of the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office told DelmarvaNow.com, “This is a first for me in my almost 20-year career."

According to the Washington Post, Shelton was wandering around the farm when he entered a shed and flipped a switch, possibly thinking it was a light switch. But Shelton and the chickens were not so lucky. Shelton instead hit the power switch which "most likely killed $20,000 worth of chickens within 15 minutes," according to police.

[img][/img]

[ZombieHorde]

1. "Criminal" is strictly a bureaucratic term, but I personally find the conditions

those chickens live in to be extremely terrible.

[Zalatix]

6. A more classic case of Animal Cruelty is hard to find.

[hobbit709]

2. All I see is chickens.

[arcane1]

3. I'm still not sure how they all died in 15 minutes

The conditions are horrible, but the article wasn't clear on what killed them, just that the power was shut off.

He did them a favor, IMO

[hobbit709]

4. Probably the ventilation system cut off.

Chickens are fairly sensitive to heat.

[darkangel218]

5. Those chickens look really good right now :p

I'm starving

[drm604]

7. What happens if there's a power outage?

I know there are probably backup generators but what if they fail to start or fail during a long power outage?

I'm trying to imagine what could kill them in less than 15 minutes. Are they packed in so tightly that the CO2 buildup kills them without constant artificial circulation?

[Zalatix]

8. Either the CO2 or the heat. But either way you hit the nail right on the head.

70,000 chickens could die if the power goes off for 15 minutes.

Something is horribly, criminally wrong with that setup.

[Confusious]

15. Seriously poor engineering also

They couldn't spend $5 for a switch protector to stop people from thinking it was a light switch?

[Initech]

9. I'm guessing it's not the drunk guy.

But this story is definitely ranking about a 9 out of 10 on my WTF-o-meter.

[Downwinder]

10. 70,000 chickens = $20,000.00

1 chicken = $0.2857

[darkangel218]

12. What?? one chicken only 20 cents??

Then why do I pay $8 at Publix for a cooked one

[limpyhobbler]

13. Gives a whole new meaning to 50 cent wing night.

[limpyhobbler]

11. yikes. n/t

[Ezlivin]

14. What the pluck?

I've heard of living life on "the edge", but this is ridiculous.

That many chickens were just one power outage from death? Damn, that's a sorry system.