BISHOPVILLE, S.C. -- South Carolina law officers are hunting for the chicken killers who have sabotaged farmers several times over the past two weeks, leaving 300,000 birds dead at a cost of as much as $1.7 million.

Multiple media reports say the Clarendon County Sheriff's Office is looking for suspects who hit 16 chicken houses in several rural communities.

Sheriff Randy Garrett said all of the farmers targeted were raising birds for Pilgrim's Pride Corp.

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Garett says the criminal is familiar with the type of alarm systems used in the chicken houses. The alarms also control the heat, air conditioning and ventilation units inside the houses and notify farmers by cellphone when their building gets too hot or cold. Chickens can die in about an hour if the ventilation and heating systems are turned off.

"They know how to turn the heat on or off to kill these birds," Garrett said, according to CBS affiliate WLTX. "They know what those birds require to live in those houses and they know how this operates."

Pilgrim Pride released the following statement:

"Pilgrim's was recently made aware of acts of vandalism in Clarendon County that have resulted in the loss of chickens raised by some of our contract grower partners. These unfortunate, yet apparently deliberate acts show a blatant disregard for the welfare of the chickens and the livelihood of the family farmers involved. We are fully cooperating with local authorities. Given the ongoing investigation, we have no further comment at this time."