PORTLAND, Maine At least 4,800 chicks shipped to Maine farmers through the U.S.
Postal Service have arrived dead in the recent weeks since rapid cuts hit the federal mail carrier's operations, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree said.
The Postal Services media contact for the Eastern U.S. did not immediately return a Press Herald reporters message Wednesday.
The Postal Service is the only entity that ships live chicks and other small animals and has done so since 1918, according to the services website.
Rural Americans, including agricultural producers, disproportionately rely on USPS for their livelihoods, and it is essential that they receive reliable service, Pingree said.