Chicks are at a stall in the first state animal center and grinding their teeth on Friday in Camden, Drum. They were one of 12,000 chicks abandoned in U.S. Postal Trucks and lasted for three days. Mingson Lau/AP Closed subtitles
An animal shelter in Delaware is working to find new homes for thousands of chicks who have been abandoned in a U.S. Postal Truck for three days.
The Delaware Department of Agriculture said it had received a call from USPS earlier this month saying there was a "baby box" in the postal service. About 12,000 chicks are shipped from the Free Ranger hatchery in Pennsylvania to farms across the country.
State agriculture officials said about 4,000 people died when they found chicks at the USPS distribution center in Delaware.
More than 8,000 survivors were taken to the first National Animal Center and SPCA in Camden, Drum City, and submitted for adoption on May 13, the shelter said.
In the same article, the shelter says that the chicks have no food, water or temperature control.
The shelter did not respond to NPR's emails or calls, but the Associated Press reported that only a few hundred chicks were adopted.
Freedom Ranger Hatchery said USPS has not yet received a clear answer to the situation.
"We know there are some rare and rare situations in this type of shipment," USPS said in a statement. It added that it works directly with hatcheries, carriers and delivery operations experts to prevent such incidents.
The Free Rangers hatchery told the Associated Press that it was impossible to bring the chicks back due to biosafety issues. The hatchery said in an email to NPR that it was a regular shipment and never reached its destination due to USPS errors.
"This loss has had a complex impact on many small family farms that rely on these birds," the hatchery said.
According to USPS's website, it is necessary to "properly ventilate, appropriately structure and strength for safe transportation in mail, and must be "properly ventilated, appropriately ventilated". The USPS guidelines require hatcheries to ensure that all packaging requirements are met so that poultry can be delivered within 72 hours of hatching.
Although USPS has been shipping mobile animals for more than 100 years, animal rights groups like PETA say it is not safe enough to travel by mail. Ingrid Newkirk, PETA president, said in a statement that the chicks were fragile, “when they were sent by mail, there was no food or water.”