2 COMPANIES CLAIM E2.8M FEED CONTAMINATED, CHICKENS DIED

MBABANE – The death of a number of chickens after they were purportedly fed with suspected contaminated poultry feed valued at about E2.8 million is now subject to litigation.

Farm Services (PTY) Limited and Eagles Milling (PTY) Limited trading as Crane Feeds, which reportedly supplied the chicken feed, which are now embroiled in a legal battle with Shonalanga Farm Investment (PTY) Limited and Sunshine Poultry (PTY) Limited trading as Sunshine, over payment. Farm Services is demanding E204 486.32 from Shonalanga Farm Investments (PTY) Limited, while Crane Feeds wants E834 124.42 from the same company.  Crane Feeds is also demanding E1 863 255.50 from Sunshine Poultry.

Contaminated

Sunshine Poultry  and Shonalanga  are, however, denying liability as they claimed to have separately incurred loses worth millions after a number of their chickens died as a result of the alleged contaminated poultry feed that was supplied by  Farm Services and  Crane Feeds. Through lawyers from Robinson Bertram, Crane Feeds and Farm Services have separately instituted civil proceedings against the two companies on diverse occasions.

In an affidavit resisting a summary judgment, Alan Louis Coleman, who is the director of Sunshine Poultry, informed the court that he had a valid and bona fide defence to the plaintiff’s (Eagles Milling (PTY) Limited trading as Crane Feeds) claim. Coleman submitted that the defendant (Sunshine Poultry) and the plaintiff entered into an agreement, wherein the latter was to supply the former with animal feed, specifically poultry feed. He averred that the first delivery was fed to a section of the poultry on the farm and the next day he noticed that those chickens which had been fed the poultry feed appeared to be unwell. “I state that at first, I did not suspect that it was the feed supplied by the Eagles Milling (PTY) Limited trading as Crane Feeds, as at the time, I was of the belief that it was a reputable supplier of impeccable standards. I state that those chickens subsequently died,” submitted Coleman.

He narrated to the court that with the subsequent supply of the feed from the plaintiff, he allegedly noticed an increase in the chicken fatalities on the farm.  These are allegations whose veracity is still to be tested in court. “I then facilitated a postmortem examination to be conducted on the population of the chickens that were dying and it was discovered that the intestines of the dead chickens were abnormally swollen and they had an unusual white lining around them,” he argued. Attached to Coleman’s affidavit are pictures of the dead chickens.

Supplies

According to Coleman, the common factor in the population of the dead chickens was the feed supplied by the plaintiff, and this observation allegedly became apparent after several months of consistent supplies from the plaintiff. Coleman told the court that it was for that reason that he was of the belief that the feed supplied to the defendant by the plaintiff was allegedly defective and further causing the defendant to sink into millions of Emalangeni worth of debt. “I state further that these postmortems were conducted in various periods between 2019 and 2020,” alleged Coleman. The matter is still pending at the High Court and the plaintiff is yet to file more papers in the matter.  The plaintiffs are represented by lawyers from Robinson Bertram while appearing for the defendants are lawyers from S.V Mdladla and Associates.

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