A former chicken farmer has been arrested in the deaths of more than 300,000 chickens under the care of family farmers and the vandalism of 16 Clarendon County chicken houses and one in Sumter County, South Carolina. The affected family farms are under contract to grow chickens of behalf of Pilgrim’s Pride, delivering the birds to the company’s prepared food facility in Sumter, South Carolina.
James Lowery, 44, a former farmer who contracted with Pilgrim’s Pride, was arrested at his home on Tuesday and charged with eight counts of second-degree burglary and four counts of malicious injury to animals or property. Damages to the chickens owned by Pilgrim’s Pride were reported to be as much as $1.7 million. Individual farmers said chicken harvest typically brings between $8,000 to $10,000. Lowery is in custody at the Clarendon Country Detention Center and is scheduled for a bond hearing today.
According to Clarendon County Sheriff Randy Garret, on three separate nights in February, Lowery vandalized 16 farms by turning off the temperature control settings and alarm systems in poultry houses, which resulted in the deaths of the birds. Garrett has contacted the U.S. attorney’s office and said that Lowery may also face federal charges of tampering with the food chain–one for each of the farms he vandalized–a charge that carries up to 20 years in federal prison.
Pilgrim’s Pride has previously offered an award of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrests and conviction of the perpetrator or perpetrators of the vandalism. However, Sheriff Garret said that reward, and a $5,000 reward also offered by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, are not in play. Garrett said Lowery was a main suspect from the beginning of the investigation, which relied on police work, not on tips.
Pilgrim’s Pride President and CEO Bill Lovette said, at the time of the incident, that “the family farmer is the backbone of rural America, her values, and her economy. The American family farmer makes safe, nutritious, and affordable meals possible for millions of American families every day. An attack against the family farm should not and cannot be tolerated.”
