Ontario Provincial Police in Huron County say a farmer falsely cried fowl after it was reported that 45,000 chicks had gone missing from a farm in the area back in 2023.
Police say they have conducted a lengthy investigation into the incident, charging a 41-year-old man from South Huron with fraud over $5,000 and public mischief.
Initially, police reported that 30,000 chicks went missing from a farm in South Huron, near Exeter, Ont., sometime between April 19 and April 20, 2023.
A few weeks later, police announced that the initial report by the farmer was off by 15,000 so the total reached 45,000 chicks.
“We can’t confirm or refute the report at this time. We have only taken the information as reported by the farmer,” a police spokesperson told Global News in June 2023.
After the initial report that the chicks were missing, OPP said the birds were valued at around $1.42 apiece, which would make the chicks worth $63,900. In a release on Wednesday evening, they upped that figure to $139,000.
The community of South Huron is about a 45-minute drive north of the city of London,