These factory farms neglected animals to death, then let them rot around their living companions

We all know by this point that factory farms are vastly overcrowded facilities where animals are shoved in like inanimate objects at a profit-maximizing warehouse, cramped together so tightly they must trod over each other just to make basic movements.

Now we're also finding out that these facilities are stuffed with preemptively rotting flesh. An undercover investigation in the UK discovered 30,000 farmed chickens, dead from severe dehydration. And often, their dried up, decomposing bodies are simply left laying around — left to surround the chickens who then wind up on our supermarkets' shelves.

Sign the petition to demand the British government get involved now!

The factory farms investigated in the UK (Avara Foods in Hertfordshire, Hook 2 Sisters in Somerset, and Overbrook Farm in Derbyshire) are contracted to supply meat for four of the largest British supermarkets, including Sainsbury's, Tesco, Lidl, Aldi, and also for KFC restaurants.

In order to sell more chicken meat faster, farm staff are forced to pump the animals with growth hormones that cause them to pack on the pounds so quickly, the chickens' poor little bodies just can't handle it. In fact, that's what has led to this huge rash of dehydration deaths. The chickens' bodies get so big so fast that their bones and legs become too weak to carry them around — so walking over to the few "water points" available becomes impossible.

Overwhelmed by thirst, desperate to drink, the animals may only stare longingly at the water as their bodies slowly break down and they die painful, tragic deaths. And then become, essentially, litter surrounding their former companions, who must then walk around on the decaying bodies.

Even worse, sometimes the hungry birds who can't move must resort to cannibalism, feasting on the bodies of their fellow chickens.

This is obviously completely unacceptable — both for the chickens, and for the humans who must then eat animals that lived in completely unsanitary conditions.

Tell the UK government to investigate Avara Foods, Hook 2 Sisters, and Overbrook Farm for their gross negligence and animal cruelty, and to implement stricter regulations now!