Hello,
My brother lives alone on a quite remote farm with my 90 year old mother. He is an intelligent, but vulnerable and trusting man. Last year, he was approached by a young man who asked if he could rent a bit of space in the farmyard to keep his 'exotic' chickens. He told my brother these chickens were a 'rare breed' and very expensive. My brother agreed to the arrangement.
My husband and I come once or twice a week and we were very concerned about how the birds were being kept. Some were kept alone, in isolation in makeshift wire coops, sometimes with little or no drinking water. The birds were also a strange breed, black with very long legs. We were also a bit concerned about the young man and his friends, who seemed friendly enough, but appeared at all hours of the day and openly smoked cannabis.
We raised our concerns to my brother (I did not want to worry my mother) but he said that he trusted the young man. However, injuries began appearing on the birds' necks and chests. The hens seemed happy enough, the injuries appeared on the male birds. They just appeared to be feathers missing and peck marks to the chest. The birds, at the time, were very young.
My husband and I reported our concerns to the RSPCA. Inspectors came and talked to my brother (the young man and his friends were nowhere to be seen). The inspector could find nothing too alarming and asked my brother to advise the young man to contact the RSPCA for advice about how to keep fowl.
Since then, the birds have got older. Two were killed by foxes. I know that the young man and his friends are raising the birds for cock fighting. You simply do not keep expensive birds in the conditions in which they are kept. Furthermore, a treadmill and a sort of punch bag contraption have also been erected and part of the free area under the dutch barn has been fenced off.
I think we should contact the police, but I am frightened of reprisals for my brother and/or mother (they are very vulnerable). I am also frightened of implicating them in the activities. My brother just believes anything the young man tells him.
I suppose I just need a kick up the backside to make the call, but, is there really enough evidence for the police to take action? Also, my brothter has the name of the young man concerned, but I am not sure it is his real name.