Practical Poultry Magazine No.115 New Hampshire Red Vorige editie

I’m sure that, like me, all of you will feel a mixture of revulsion, anger, sorrow and despair at the events that Allen Harding and his precious Sebrights were forced to endure at the hands of a couple of shockingly violent young men recently. His sad tale, which starts on page 44, should act as a warning to us all. Hopefully, though, the good that’ll come out of its publication is that – together with the rest of the practical, anti-theft advice in the article – it’ll raise awareness about the potential
there is for trouble to strike when you least expect it. While the incidence of poultry-related theft seems to be on the increase – a trend that’s presumably being fuelled by the popularity of the hobby as a whole – my impression is that the number of cases involving the sort of terrible behaviour that
Allen experienced, are rare events. Nevertheless, the fact that chickens and poultry equipment are so easy to sell nowadays, thanks to the proliferation of sales, auctions and, of course, the internet, means that the dishonest in society can see a profit potential in targeting chicken keepers. Regrettably, as with most other sorts of theft, the bottom line is that if somebody is determined enough to break in and take your birds and equipment (or worse), then they’re going to do so. So, rather like the situation with red mite, the best you can really hope for when protecting your property is to manage the situation as best you can. Those, like Allen, keeping their birds at remote locations are obviously more vulnerable than most but, thankfully, modern technology is coming to the rescue.
As we highlight in the article, there’s a growing range of specialist, high-tech alarm systems and other useful deterrents, designed to help make the prospect of preventing this sort of appalling behaviour much more of a reality for us all.