NSPCA says thanks to Boksburg SPCA

Boksburg SPCA’s inspector, Ralph Chivaviro, and field officers Jabu Manchidi and Melanie Mey Schoenmaker recently received certificates of appreciation from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) for their dedication during the 2025 Daybreak chicken welfare disaster.

The recognition comes in the wake of one of the most challenging animal welfare emergencies, where chickens were found abandoned, starving and suffering at poultry farms associated with Daybreak Foods. About 200 000 birds had to be culled.

The NSPCA mobilised a disaster response team of over 75 dedicated staff and volunteers from the NSPCA and local SPCAs, including Boksburg SPCA.

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In the days following, more farms were uncovered with shocking cruelty and starvation.

The mass culling began on April 30 and continued until May 5, 2025.

In a statement, the NSPCA said they have, since May 1, rescued and placed over 500 000 birds on rearing farms.

“With the assistance of a producer, these birds received suitable feed after being denied food for several days.

“Unfortunately, over 350 000 birds from various farms could not be salvaged and had to be humanely culled.

“The mortalities on each farm were a shocking indication of how long these birds were denied feed,” read the statement.

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For Schoenmaker, the acknowledgement was meaningful. “It is good to be recognised for what we went out to do. It was a very sad situation because the chickens were so hungry that they were actually eating one another. It was really terrible.”

The Boksburg SPCA committee and management expressed pride in the recipients’ unwavering commitment to animal welfare, even when faced with harrowing scenes and thanked the NSPCA for their recognition of the work done.