Egg farmer stands his ground in raid
By NICK GARDINER
Staff Writer
SHANLY -- A 10-hour standoff between federal food inspectors and a local egg farmer backed by 40 landowners ended Thursday evening when thousands of confiscated eggs and chickens - many dead or dying after going hours without ventilation or water - were released back to the owner.
Inspectors who raided the County Road 21 farm near the Grenville-Dundas County border allege Shawn Carmichael, owner of Carmichael Poultry Farm at 317 County Road 21, had been selling ungraded or improperly graded eggs and lacked proper registration for his operation.
But investigators were prevented from taking the confiscated property away and had to settle instead with dozens of bird carcasses and a carton of eggs to use as evidence.
They also made a commitment to return Carmichael's financial records after making copies for their purposes.
"Whatever happens to me (in the courts) will happen but at least I stood up and was counted," said Carmichael, a husband and father of six children, who sparked the standoff about 1 p.m. when he parked a tractor at the entrance of his driveway to prevent the inspectors from leaving.
"You get to the stage where you say, 'I've got to stand up for myself here. I've got to stand up for my family,'" he said.
"Then I see people who care and will help a guy like me. That gives me a lot. It makes me feel like I'm not alone."
Earlier, when more than 20 inspectors and enforcement workers from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), accompanied by six OPP officers and agents with the Egg Marketing Board of Ontario, launched a raid on the property at 9 a.m., Carmichael and his wife Paula felt totally isolated.
He said his wife wasn't even allowed to get eggs from the barn to feed their children breakfast before the oldest were taken by the mother to school and the others to stay with their grandparents.
"My children have never looked at me like that before," said Carmichael, struggling to remain composed.
"They see the police and they think something is wrong."
He said he was stunned watching the inspectors go through his house, including the children's bedrooms, searching for evidence while chickens and eggs were being seized and loaded on a transport trailer and other trucks.
About four hours into the raid after the first couple of supporters from the Leeds and Grenville Landowners Association arrived at the farmgate where they were met by OPP, Carmichael got in a tractor and drove it to the end of a 300-metre driveway to block the exit.
The action set up a showdown that mushroomed as the afternoon went on until dozens of supporters, including Ontario Landowners Association president Randy Hillier, arrived with their familiar "Back off Government" signs and took up position at the end of the driveway.
The OPP responded in kind and eventually had more than 20 cruisers on hand, including several that established roadblocks at the nearest intersections, and about 30 officers keeping an eye on the activities.
For the most part, the police and protesters treated each other with respect.
Still, the atmosphere was tense and there were some dicey moments, none more so than when a farmer in a tractor came dangerously close to lowering a bucket on a police officer standing his ground near the entrance to the driveway.
Meanwhile, the work of the CFIA came to a halt as inspectors waited to see when they could leave the property.
At one point, a van drove up from the house as near as possible to the edge of the driveway where a waiting pizza delivery was picked up for the trapped inspectors.
For the supporters of Carmichael, the irony was too much and the taxpayer-bought meal became a focus of their anger.
As the afternoon wore on, negotiations between Carmichael, Hillier and the police grew more intense out of concern for the chickens, which were suffering from being confined in crammed metal cages without ventilation in the back of the truck. One Carmichael supporter walked back to the group at the driveway in tears after pleading for the caged chickens to be released.
By 4:30 p.m., when protesters threatened to march on the transport and free the birds forcibly, the CFIA and egg marketing board authorities began yielding to the demands to release the confiscated property.
At that point, protesters were allowed access to the trucks and they began hauling out the cages of birds only to discover many were already dead.
About a dozen CFIA workers wearing protective gear and standing nearby were taunted by the protesters who complained about the cramped conditions in which the chickens were packed and suggested the treatment was inhumane and worthy of investigation by the Humane Society.
Carmichael, who carried out a dead bird to the crowd to emphasize the point, said he couldn't believe the thoughtlessness exhibited by authorities supposed to be looking after animal welfare.
"Would you pack your dogs in like that? Would you pack your cats in like that? I don't know how a human can do something like that," he said.
He said he expects many more of the chickens to die as a result of the conditions and even those that will survive are unlikely to produce eggs at a normal rate.
Hillier said the landowners' efforts weren't in vain despite the devastation brought to the stock of birds.
"We can't prevent every injustice but we've mitigated the level of this injustice, which is something of a victory," he said.
Hillier said he isn't taking sides in Carmichael's legal fight with the CFIA but he wants the protest to send a signal that "common sense" has to be applied when a person's livelihood is at stake.
"The deck was being stacked against him to not be able to defend himself," said Hillier.
Cliff Yeatman, a member of the Leeds and Grenville Landowners Association who was one of the first protesters on the scene along with Gill Cyr, said the action paid dividends.
"I'm proud the landowners stepped in and stood up for him," said Yeatman, noting Carmichael is not a member of the organization.
"It just shows we're here for everybody. If there's an issue that's not right, we're here."
Among the supporters were Gene and Marsha Countryman whose dairy operation was shut down in a dispute with the CFIA a decade ago.
Gene Countryman said the inspectors are so rigid in their enforcement procedures that they forget there are human costs to their actions.
In his own case, the emotional scars have yet to heal, he said.
"You never get over it."
Rick Sauder, enforcement officer with the CFIA, said legal proceedings against Carmichael will not be halted.
Sauder said warrants for the investigation were executed under the Canadian Agricultural Products Act and the provincial Farm Marketing Act.
"We were trying to execute a lawful warrant on the premises. We were impeded in that duty," said Sauder, who offered no further comment.
Harry Pelissero, general manager for the Ontario Egg Producers, said Carmichael faces charges of selling ungraded eggs, unlawful possession of laying hens and failing to pay his licensing fees.
As an independend producer, Carmichael is allowed up to 100 chickens. Pelissero said investigators counted more than 9,000 chickens on the site Thursday.
Inspector Brent Hill, commander of the Grenville County OPP, was pleased the situation didn't escalate.
He said police had to be cautious in a tense situation and his overriding concern was to maintain peace and order.
"We're just here trying to come to a solution," said Hill.
Published in Section A, page 1 in the Friday, March 24, 2006 edition of the Brockville Recorder & Times.
Posted 4:30:02 PM Friday, March 24, 2006.
By NICK GARDINER
Staff Writer
SHANLY -- A 10-hour standoff between federal food inspectors and a local egg farmer backed by 40 landowners ended Thursday evening when thousands of confiscated eggs and chickens - many dead or dying after going hours without ventilation or water - were released back to the owner.
Inspectors who raided the County Road 21 farm near the Grenville-Dundas County border allege Shawn Carmichael, owner of Carmichael Poultry Farm at 317 County Road 21, had been selling ungraded or improperly graded eggs and lacked proper registration for his operation.
But investigators were prevented from taking the confiscated property away and had to settle instead with dozens of bird carcasses and a carton of eggs to use as evidence.
They also made a commitment to return Carmichael's financial records after making copies for their purposes.
"Whatever happens to me (in the courts) will happen but at least I stood up and was counted," said Carmichael, a husband and father of six children, who sparked the standoff about 1 p.m. when he parked a tractor at the entrance of his driveway to prevent the inspectors from leaving.
"You get to the stage where you say, 'I've got to stand up for myself here. I've got to stand up for my family,'" he said.
"Then I see people who care and will help a guy like me. That gives me a lot. It makes me feel like I'm not alone."
Earlier, when more than 20 inspectors and enforcement workers from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), accompanied by six OPP officers and agents with the Egg Marketing Board of Ontario, launched a raid on the property at 9 a.m., Carmichael and his wife Paula felt totally isolated.
He said his wife wasn't even allowed to get eggs from the barn to feed their children breakfast before the oldest were taken by the mother to school and the others to stay with their grandparents.
"My children have never looked at me like that before," said Carmichael, struggling to remain composed.
"They see the police and they think something is wrong."
He said he was stunned watching the inspectors go through his house, including the children's bedrooms, searching for evidence while chickens and eggs were being seized and loaded on a transport trailer and other trucks.
About four hours into the raid after the first couple of supporters from the Leeds and Grenville Landowners Association arrived at the farmgate where they were met by OPP, Carmichael got in a tractor and drove it to the end of a 300-metre driveway to block the exit.
The action set up a showdown that mushroomed as the afternoon went on until dozens of supporters, including Ontario Landowners Association president Randy Hillier, arrived with their familiar "Back off Government" signs and took up position at the end of the driveway.
The OPP responded in kind and eventually had more than 20 cruisers on hand, including several that established roadblocks at the nearest intersections, and about 30 officers keeping an eye on the activities.
For the most part, the police and protesters treated each other with respect.
Still, the atmosphere was tense and there were some dicey moments, none more so than when a farmer in a tractor came dangerously close to lowering a bucket on a police officer standing his ground near the entrance to the driveway.
Meanwhile, the work of the CFIA came to a halt as inspectors waited to see when they could leave the property.
At one point, a van drove up from the house as near as possible to the edge of the driveway where a waiting pizza delivery was picked up for the trapped inspectors.
For the supporters of Carmichael, the irony was too much and the taxpayer-bought meal became a focus of their anger.
As the afternoon wore on, negotiations between Carmichael, Hillier and the police grew more intense out of concern for the chickens, which were suffering from being confined in crammed metal cages without ventilation in the back of the truck. One Carmichael supporter walked back to the group at the driveway in tears after pleading for the caged chickens to be released.
By 4:30 p.m., when protesters threatened to march on the transport and free the birds forcibly, the CFIA and egg marketing board authorities began yielding to the demands to release the confiscated property.
At that point, protesters were allowed access to the trucks and they began hauling out the cages of birds only to discover many were already dead.
About a dozen CFIA workers wearing protective gear and standing nearby were taunted by the protesters who complained about the cramped conditions in which the chickens were packed and suggested the treatment was inhumane and worthy of investigation by the Humane Society.
Carmichael, who carried out a dead bird to the crowd to emphasize the point, said he couldn't believe the thoughtlessness exhibited by authorities supposed to be looking after animal welfare.
"Would you pack your dogs in like that? Would you pack your cats in like that? I don't know how a human can do something like that," he said.
He said he expects many more of the chickens to die as a result of the conditions and even those that will survive are unlikely to produce eggs at a normal rate.
Hillier said the landowners' efforts weren't in vain despite the devastation brought to the stock of birds.
"We can't prevent every injustice but we've mitigated the level of this injustice, which is something of a victory," he said.
Hillier said he isn't taking sides in Carmichael's legal fight with the CFIA but he wants the protest to send a signal that "common sense" has to be applied when a person's livelihood is at stake.
"The deck was being stacked against him to not be able to defend himself," said Hillier.
Cliff Yeatman, a member of the Leeds and Grenville Landowners Association who was one of the first protesters on the scene along with Gill Cyr, said the action paid dividends.
"I'm proud the landowners stepped in and stood up for him," said Yeatman, noting Carmichael is not a member of the organization.
"It just shows we're here for everybody. If there's an issue that's not right, we're here."
Among the supporters were Gene and Marsha Countryman whose dairy operation was shut down in a dispute with the CFIA a decade ago.
Gene Countryman said the inspectors are so rigid in their enforcement procedures that they forget there are human costs to their actions.
In his own case, the emotional scars have yet to heal, he said.
"You never get over it."
Rick Sauder, enforcement officer with the CFIA, said legal proceedings against Carmichael will not be halted.
Sauder said warrants for the investigation were executed under the Canadian Agricultural Products Act and the provincial Farm Marketing Act.
"We were trying to execute a lawful warrant on the premises. We were impeded in that duty," said Sauder, who offered no further comment.
Harry Pelissero, general manager for the Ontario Egg Producers, said Carmichael faces charges of selling ungraded eggs, unlawful possession of laying hens and failing to pay his licensing fees.
As an independend producer, Carmichael is allowed up to 100 chickens. Pelissero said investigators counted more than 9,000 chickens on the site Thursday.
Inspector Brent Hill, commander of the Grenville County OPP, was pleased the situation didn't escalate.
He said police had to be cautious in a tense situation and his overriding concern was to maintain peace and order.
"We're just here trying to come to a solution," said Hill.
Published in Section A, page 1 in the Friday, March 24, 2006 edition of the Brockville Recorder & Times.
Posted 4:30:02 PM Friday, March 24, 2006.
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