Foster Farms suspends 5 employees after undercover video by animal rights group Mercy For Animals shows abuse.
Undercover video showing birds being slammed upside-down into shackles, scalded alive, punched and having their feathers pulled out while still alive, and chicks being tossed onto the ground.
Foster Farms – based in California – said the employees were either directly involved in the abuse or failed to report it.
Foster Farms says it’s also reinforcing animal welfare training company-wide.
Mercy For Animals held a press conference, this morning to show the undercover video to the media in Fresno.
The Los Angeles-based animal rights group says two workers were hired by Foster Farms and took undercover video between April and June at a Foster Farms slaughterhouse in Fresno and the company’s nearby farms.
The undercover workers reported the video but they say they had no response from the poultry producer, until now.
“It’s Foster Farms policy to take disciplinary action against animal welfare violations up to and including termination of employees,” Foster Farm said in a written statement.
A spokesperson for the American Humane Association said officials from their organization met with the poultry producer on Wednesday regarding the content of the video which was called surprising.
The AHA may take legal action against Foster Farms regarding the certification logo on the chicken meat – calling it a betrayal to both the animals and the consumers who purchase them under the guise they are humanly treated.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Tony Botti says they are investigating the abuse after getting a complaint last week from Mercy For Animals: “The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office is aware of the allegations Mercy for Animals is making against Foster Farms and we are looking into the matter. The investigation is ongoing and detectives do not have any specific details to release at this time.”
The Fresno County Sheriff’s AG Crimes Task Force is looking into the allegations.
