Tyson Foods has said it is investigating claims of animal abuse at one of its contract chicken farms in Delaware.
Animal cruelty campaign group, Mercy for Animals, responded to a video released which it said "reveals widespread animal abuse and suffering".
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The video, according to MFA, shows "thousands of baby birds bred to grow so fast they became crippled under their own weight, workers carelessly kicking, clubbing, and throwing chickens, and thousands of severely sick and injured animals left to suffer without proper veterinary care or access to food and water".
Nathan Runkle, MFA's president, said: "Tyson Foods is literally torturing chickens to death. They are crammed into filthy, windowless sheds, thrown, kicked, and brutalised by careless workers, and bred to grow so fast they suffer from painful leg deformities and heart attacks. This is sickening animal abuse no company with morals should support. Tyson Foods has not only the power, but also the ethical responsibility to end the worst forms of cruelty to animals in its supply chain."
A spokesperson for Tyson Foods told just-food today (9 July) the company had offered to meet with Mercy for Animals to discuss its concerns but the group declined.
"Animal well-being is a top priority for us. We do not tolerate improper animal treatment and take claims of animal abuse very seriously. We are investigating this matter. We have programmes and policies in place to protect the health and well-being of all our animals. This includes the Tyson FarmCheck program that involves third-party auditors who check on the farm for such things as animal access to food and water, human-animal interaction and worker training.
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By GlobalData"Our farmers work hard to raise healthy birds, however, sometimes chickens – just like people – get sick. At the time this video was shot this past spring, this farm had birds that were sick with a respiratory illness. As a result, what was shown in the video is not typical for this or any other farm. It was also not a food safety issue."
