Butterball Turkey Farm Raided As a Result of Underground Video Filmed by Mercy For Animals (November/December 2011)

Thank you for shining a light on the Butterball BS EV. Are you familiar with these folks? www.UPC-online.org

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45826577/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/#.Tv6frORjFaw

MSN...

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Butterball turkey farm raided after abuse claims
Undercover images show turkeys being beaten, kicked and dragged

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Photo: Injured turkey

Mercy For Animals
Mercy For Animals posted this and other images that it says were taken inside a Butterball farm in Shannon, N.C., by an undercover operative.

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updated 12/30/2011 12:50:47 PM ET

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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Authorities on Friday were investigating whether workers at a Butterball farm had abused turkeys there. The investigation follows a raid there prompted by allegations from an animal rights group.

The raid Thursday came after the nonprofit Mercy For Animals provided law enforcement with secretly recorded video footage that showed live turkeys being kicked, thrown, dragged by the neck and wings, and hit with some sort of stick or bar.

The video was collected during several weeks in November and December by an activist who got a job at the company's turkey semen collection facility in Shannon, N.C., said Nathan Runkle, the organization's executive director.

Butterball, headquartered in Garner, N.C., is the largest producer of turkey products in the United States, according to the company's website. The company says it accounts for 20 percent of the country's total turkey production.

In a statement Thursday, the company said it was taking the allegations seriously. In addition to working with authorities, Butterball said it was performing its own internal and third-party audits.

"Butterball has a zero tolerance policy for any mistreatment of our birds or the failure to immediately report mistreatment of our birds by any associates," the company said. "Employees found in violation of Butterball's animal welfare policies will be subject to immediate termination."

No arrests had been made in connection with a search warrant as of Thursday afternoon, said Hoke County Sheriff's Captain John Kivett.

Veterinarians were examining more than 2,000 turkeys at the farm.

"The investigation is still ongoing," Kivett said.

Runkle said the Chicago-based Mercy For Animals contacted local authorities with the results of its undercover investigation and provided a complaint outlining what the group alleged were violations of the state's animal cruelty laws.

The undercover worker was interviewed by authorities before the search, Kivett said.

"We commend law enforcement for taking swift and decisive action on this important matter," Runkle told Reuters. "We hope that the company will be held criminally accountable for the suffering that they've imposed on these animals."

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http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/12/NC-sheriff-probi...

USA Today...

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Friday - Dec 30, 2011
N.C. sheriff probes abuse claims at Butterball turkey farm

By Michael Winter, USA TODAY
Updated 3h 56m ago

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By Gerry Broome, AP

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Veterinarians in North Carolina have been examining an estimated 2,500 Butterball turkeys for possible abuse or euthanization after undercover video by an animal-welfare group showed workers kicking, hitting and mistreating some birds, local news outlets say.

Hoke County investigators remained at a Butterball farm kin Shannon, near the South Carolina border, that sheriff's deputies visited Thursday after Chicago-based Mercy for Animals showed the district attorney its video. The group says one its members worked undercover at the farm for three weeks.

"Our investigation showed this is a pattern of abuse and neglect and that Butterball has failed miserably to prevent egregious animal abuse from occurring on its factory farm," Nathan Runkle of Mercy for Animals told WRAL-TV while explaining how the group got the video.

WTVD reports that officials said an unspecified number of injured birds would have to be euthanized.

Butterball LLC, the nation's largest turkey producer, said in a statement that "our No. 1 priority is to provide for the health and well-being of our birds" and that it has "a zero tolerance policy for any mistreatment of our birds or the failure to immediately report mistreatment of our birds by any associates."

"We are currently working with Hoke County government officials regarding allegations of animal cruelty at a farm in North Carolina. Butterball takes these allegations very seriously and fully supports the efforts being made on the part of officials."

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http://www.wsoctv.com/news/30098286/detail.html

WSOC TV...

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Butterball turkey farm raided after abuse allegations levied

Posted: 4:46 pm EST December 29, 2011

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HOKE COUNTY, N.C. -- The group Mercy For Animals will hold a press conference Friday to reveal what they found at an area Butterball turkey farm.

An undercover video released to YouTube shows turkeys being kicked and carried by the neck. At one point, workers are throwing the turkeys into the side of a truck.

Another video clearly shows injured and bleeding turkeys.

Hoke County deputies Thursday morning raided the farm after the abuse allegations surfaced.

A team of veterinarians was also on hand during the raid to inspect the thousands of birds. Officials said they would take action against the farm if they found any of the birds to be in poor health or suffering.

“We do have a court order saying that if the veterinarians that are in there believe that the birds need to be put down, that is a possibility that will happen,” said Capt. John Kivett with the Hoke County Sheriff’s Office.

Butterball issued a statement Thursday afternoon saying the company has a zero-tolerance policy on abuse.

“Butterball takes these allegations very seriously and fully supports the efforts being made on the part of officials,” the statement read.

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PHOTO: Debeaked baby turkeys
Farm Sanctuary

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2079944/Sheriffs-office-raids-Butterball...

Daily Mail…

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Cops raid Butterball farm after undercover video exposes horrific abuse of turkeys

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PHOTO:
Shocking abuse: An investigator for Mercy for Animals working undercover at the Butterball plant found many turkeys like this one, subjected to kicking and stomping at the facility

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By Thomas Durante
Last updated at 9:35 PM on 29th December 2011
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The turkeys are coming home to roost at Butterball.

After a pattern of vicious abuse was caught on tape and posted online, authorities in North Carolina have raided a facility of the turkey giant.

The raid came after allegations made by animal advocacy group Mercy for Animals, who sent an undercover investigator to work for the company for three weeks.

What the investigator found was shocking abuse of the turkeys, leaving many with missing eyes, deformed feet and other injuries.

Other findings included squalid conditions that left the turkeys living in their own waste and covered in flies.

The undercover video, which was posted to YouTube on December 23, showed workers savagely kicking and stomping on the turkeys and dragging them around by their necks.

Mercy for Animals said they immediately contacted law enforcement about the abuse at the facility.

The group added that the Hoke County Sheriff’s office executed a warrant this morning at the farm.

A call to Hoke County Sheriff Hubert Peterkin was not immediately returned.
And as provocative as the undercover investigation may be, it's nothing new.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals conducted a similar operation in 2006 that exposed rampant abuse at a Butterball plant in Arkansas.

Today's raid comes on the heels of other legal action taken against the North Carolina-based Butterball.

Earlier this month, a federal anti-discrimination lawsuit accused the company of firing an HIV-positive employee after she repeatedly reported co-workers for harassing her.

Tracy Montgomery processed turkey parts at Butterball's Kinston plant for about five weeks in 2009.

The Raleigh News & Observer of Raleigh reports the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleges that Tracy Montgomery complained frequently to her supervisors that her colleagues mocked and humiliated her during her employment.

Butterball officials have declined to comment about the lawsuit.

The company has its headquarters in Garner and produces more than 1billion pounds of turkey each year.

The suit says a co-worker threatened to get a gun from her car and shoot Montgomery, who was fired when the company blamed her for causing disruption in the workplace.

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Watch video here (Warning: Graphic content)

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2079944/Sheriffs-office-raids-Butterball...

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/29/us-butterball-abuse-idUSTRE7BS16Q20111...

Reuters...

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Butterball turkey facility searched for abuse of birds

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By Colleen Jenkins

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina | Thu Dec 29, 2011 4:40pm EST

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(Reuters) - Authorities searched a Butterball turkey farm in North Carolina on Thursday after an animal protection group alleged that birds there were being neglected and abused, police said.

The search came after the nonprofit Mercy For Animals provided law enforcement with secretly recorded video footage that showed live turkeys being kicked, thrown, dragged by the neck and wings and hit with some sort of stick or bar.

The video was collected during several weeks in November and December by an activist who got a job at the company's turkey semen collection facility in Shannon, North Carolina, said Nathan Runkle, the organization's executive director.

Butterball, headquartered in Garner, North Carolina, is the largest producer of turkey products in the United States, according to the company's website. The company says it accounts for 20 percent of the country's total turkey production.

In a statement released on Thursday, the company said it was taking the allegations seriously. In addition to working with authorities, Butterball said it was performing its own internal and third-party audits.

"Butterball has a zero tolerance policy for any mistreatment of our birds or the failure to immediately report mistreatment of our birds by any associates," the company said.

"Employees found in violation of Butterball's animal welfare policies will be subject to immediate termination."

No arrests had been made in connection with a search warrant as of Thursday afternoon, said Hoke County Sheriff's Captain John Kivett. Veterinarians were examining more than 2,000 turkeys at the farm.

"The investigation is still ongoing," Kivett said.

Runkle said the Chicago-based Mercy For Animals contacted local authorities with the results of its undercover investigation and provided a complaint outlining what the group alleged were violations of the state's animal cruelty laws.

The undercover worker was interviewed by authorities before the search, Kivett said.

"We commend law enforcement for taking swift and decisive action on this important matter," Runkle told Reuters. "We hope that the company will be held criminally accountable for the suffering that they've imposed on these animals."

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(Editing by Greg McCune)

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http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/butterball-turkey-raided-amid-animal-abuse-allegat....Tv0em-RjFaw

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Butterball Turkey Raided Amid Animal Abuse Allegations

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By CINDY GALLI, AVNI PATEL and RYM MOMTAZ
Dec. 29, 2011
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Acting on allegations of "repeated violations" of animal cruelty, officials in North Carolina raided a Butterball turkey facility this morning.

The raid was spurred by a confidential complaint filed with the Hoke County District Attorney earlier this month and obtained by ABC News, in which the animal rights group Mercy for Animals details conditions captured on hidden camera video by an activist who worked undercover at the Butterball facility for three weeks, ending in mid-December. The group says the activist witnessed "an ongoing pattern of cruelty to the turkeys" which included Butterball employees intentionally committing "acts of violence and severe neglect."

Butterball is the largest turkey producer in the U.S. and accounts for 20 percent of total turkey production in the country, according to its website.

Mercy for Animals, known for its undercover investigations of factory farms that utilize animals, cited North Carolina law in its complaint, in which "malicious" animal abuse can be found a felony.

In the hidden camera video, workers can be seen kicking and stomping on turkeys, as well as dragging them by their wings and necks. The video also shows injured birds with open wounds and exposed flesh.

During the raid, more than 2,000 birds will be inspected by investigators with the Hoke County Sheriff's Department as well as independent experts to look for injuries or signs of neglect, according to police. The search warrant executed today includes a court order allowing independent veterinarians to euthanize any birds that are determined to be suffering needlessly.

After the raid began, Butterball released a statement, saying it has a "zero tolerance policy for any mistreatment of our birds" and said the company was conducting its own investigation into the allegations.

"At Butterball, LLC, our number one priority is to provide for the health and well being of our birds in order to produce safe and nutritious product for consumers," the statement says. "Butterball takes these allegations very seriously and fully supports the efforts being made on the part of officials… Employees found in violation of Butterball's animal welfare policies will be subject to immediate termination."

However Nathan Runkle, Executive Director for Mercy for Animals, said the company should be held responsible for the alleged "cruelty" caught on camera.

"Butterball is guilty of extreme animal abuse and should be held criminally accountable… As a civilized society it's our moral obligation to prevent cruelty to animals, including to those raised for food," Runkle told ABC News. "Consumers have a right to know the cruel reality behind Butterball turkey."

"Butterball's secret ingredient is egregious animal cruelty and neglect," he said.

The birds at the Hoke County Butterball farm are used for breeding purposes only and would not have been sold as food.

No birds had reportedly been euthanized at the time of this report's publication. Inspections are ongoing.

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ABC News

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Experts

CONTINUED...

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PART TWO...

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Debra Teachout, DVM, MVSc

Dr. Teachout is a practicing veterinarian, who graduated from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. She also holds an advanced degree in veterinary clinical pathology from Western College of Veterinary Medicine and has completed additional coursework in farmed-animal welfare. Dr. Teachout states:

I believe there is serious animal abuse occurring at this facility. They are treated as if they are inanimate objects. The kicking in particular appears to be delivered with the intent to harm the bird. Beating a bird to death is also clear and severe animal cruelty. The animals are suffering greatly in this facility due to egregious, overt violence aimed at them as well as unconcealed disregard for their welfare. The birds are not living a life remotely worth living. Their world is full of fear, distress, pain, injury and illness as witnessed by this video. A culture of blatant and severe animal mistreatment has been allowed to flourish unchecked, and for that reason, this facility should be shut down immediately.

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Lorelei Wakefield, VMD

Dr. Wakefield holds a Veterinary Medical Doctorate and uses her background to assist Humane Law Enforcement officers in New York City with animal cruelty investigations and to treat the victims. Her expertise, which includes the care of farmed animals, has been widely featured on the Animal Precinct television series. Dr. Wakefield states:

Video footage of the turkeys on this farm exhibits inappropriate handling causing unnecessary stress and injury such as broken wings and legs. Untreated wounds and illnesses are evidence of inadequate husbandry and sanitation. These turkeys experience needless pain and suffering.

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Bernard E. Rollin, PhD

Dr. Rollin is a distinguished professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University and is well known internationally for his over 30 years of work in animal welfare. He was a major architect of federal laws protecting laboratory animals, and has written two books on farmed-animal welfare. He serves on the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production and is an expert witness on animal welfare issues in the U.S. and abroad. Dr. Rollin states:

There is absolutely no reason to handle the animals as roughly and unthinkingly as these workers do. Dragging the turkeys by the neck or wing; kicking them in order to move them is gratuitous, and indeed counterproductive, since it will inevitably create stress, pain, injury.

The video depicts a large number of animals suffering from horrible injuries, including fractures, deep sores, and large areas of necrosis. There is no indication that the animals are ever treated, nor are they put out of their misery.

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Lesley Rogers, PhD

Over the past forty years, Dr. Rogers has made outstanding contributions in the fields of animal neuroscience and behavior. Dr. Rogers founded the Research Centre for Neuroscience and Animal Behaviour at the University of New England, where she also chaired a number of committees. Dr. Rogers has served as the president of the Australian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour and as the president of the International Society for Comparative Psychology. She is currently a professor emeritus of Neuroscience and Animal Behaviour at the University of New England and a member of the editorial boards of six international journals. Dr. Rogers states:

[The video] shows shocking brutality. The birds are lifted by their wings, pulled by the neck, thrown, kicked and dragged. All of these are cruel practices inflicting pain and injury. The footage on injuries shows gross external, and most likely internal, wounds. Many of the wounded birds have flies crawling on them, which indicates that they have not been treated. Other footage shows birds with advanced eye infections that also have not been treated. The injured birds are without doubt in great pain.

Then comes extraordinary cruel killing by battering the birds with a rod. Some are left to die slowly. Those who remain conscious endure extreme suffering that is both inhumane and totally without any justification. It seems to me that the workers who inflict this pain have themselves become brutalized. This is clearly a facility in which animal welfare is not only ignored but also the workers go out of their way to be mercilessly cruel.

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Armaiti May, DVM, CVA

Dr. May, a practicing veterinarian with experience treating farmed animals, received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. She has experience treating livestock, and is an expert at recognizing the signs of pain and distress in farmed animals. Dr. May states:

It is very disheartening to encounter such blatant cruelty and neglect towards the turkeys at this facility. The practice of kicking these turkeys and grabbing them by their necks and wings demonstrates a complete disregard for their welfare and should not be tolerated. Any workers who engage in such behavior or supervisor who allows or condones such behavior should be promptly fired and should have charges of animal cruelty brought against them.

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Ian Duncan, PhD

Dr. Duncan is a world-renowned expert in poultry science, having earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with Honours in Animal Husbandry from Edinburgh University and a doctorate at the Poultry Research Centre with a dissertation on frustration and conflict in domestic fowl. He is a professor of applied ethology in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science at the University of Guelph and also holds the oldest university chair in animal welfare in North America. Dr. Duncan writes:

Birds are fully sentient creatures and able to experience pain, fear and distress. Handling them in this manner will result in serious bruising, in broken bones and in dislocated joints all of which will result in severe pain. The birds will also be extremely frightened by being treated in this way.

The section on lame and injured birds shows birds with various types of lameness. Some birds are unable to bear weight on one or both legs, while others move with extreme difficulty. These conditions are known to be very painful. Lifting these birds by the legs will cause even worse pain. Many of the birds are so disabled that they should not be subjected to transportation but should have been euthanized before the lameness became so severe.

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http://www.medicaldaily.com/datainfo/images/2011/12/2677turkey.jpg

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http://www.butterballabuse.com/experts.php

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Mercy for Animals...

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Experts

Independent, nationally and world-renowned academic and professional experts in bird welfare and veterinary medicine reviewed the video footage from MFA's undercover investigation of this Butterball factory farm. Below are some of their statements:

PART ONE...

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Temple Grandin, PhD, PAS

Dr. Grandin is considered the world's leading expert on farmed-animal welfare. She is an associate professor of livestock behavior at Colorado State University and an animal welfare advisor to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the meat industry. Dr. Grandin states:

The handling was really rough and kicking and dragging large turkeys is abuse and cruelty.

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Jonathan Balcombe, PhD

Dr. Balcombe is an ethologist with bachelors and master's degrees in biology, and a doctorate in animal behavior from the University of Tennessee. He is the author of four books on animal behavior, as well as more than 40 book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Balcombe states:

This film depicts brutal, callous and cruel handling of domesticated turkeys. It shows heavy birds being dragged by the head, neck or wing(s), kicked roughly, and thrown violently.

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Jean Hofve, DVM

Dr. Hofve received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Colorado State University in 1994. Her veterinary practice includes farmed animals. Dr. Hofve states:

The callous brutality with which turkeys were individually handled in this video is horrifying. Frequently in the video, birds were grabbed by a single wing or leg, or even worse, by their necks, and dragged or thrown without regard to the fear or pain the animals were experiencing or the potential injuries being caused.

[T]his extreme depth and breadth of abuse at this facility is deplorable, and absolutely cannot be tolerated.

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Sara Shields, PhD

Sara Shields holds a doctorate in animal behavior from the University of California, Davis, and has extensive experience as a research scientist, teacher, and consultant in animal welfare, with an emphasis on the well-being of poultry.

The handling of birds during loading for slaughter as depicted in this video footage is unacceptable. There is never a valid reason to throw, kick, hit or drag birds at any stage of the production cycle. Turkeys are fully capable of feeling pain, fear, stress and of suffering, and the way they are treated in the video is clearly abusive.

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Lee Schrader, DVM

Dr. Schrader is a practicing veterinarian, who obtained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Schrader has over 35 years of experience working with animals, particularly animals with serious, difficult-to-diagnose disorders. She performs post-mortem examinations on animal victims of abuse and neglect and provides expert testimony in such cases. Dr. Schrader states:

In my opinion, the practices of this facility are clearly inhumane and result in severe suffering and distress to the birds confined therein. There appears to be no concern for the welfare of these animals, and they are beaten, thrown and kicked, as well as allowed to suffer with open, filthy wounds, injuries and infections.

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CONTINUED...

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