Intruder uses golf club to kill 920 chickens in California

At least one person broke into a chicken shed in California this month and used a golf club to kill 920 birds, officials said Tuesday.

Deputies arrived at the Foster Farms facility in Caruthers, southwest of Fresno, Sept. 20 and found that an intruder had pulled back a fence to gain access to the shed, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. It said the intruder killed hundreds of chickens with a golf club “and possibly another similar type instrument.”

A piece of what appeared to be a golf club was found at the scene, Deputy Chris Curtice told the Los Angeles Times.

Detectives are looking into a motive, but “whoever did something like this is pretty sick,” Curtice said. “It would take a long time to do it…. People should be alarmed at something like that.”

Sheriff’s investigators are asking for help in finding whoever was responsible, and Foster Farms is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to arrest and prosecution.

“It is the express policy of Foster Farms to treat its birds humanely and with compassion,” the company said in a statement.

Anyone with information is asked to call sheriff’s detectives at (559) 600-8150, the Sheriff’s Office at (559) 600-3111 or Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-7867.