An undercover investigation spanning multiple states by the Humane Society of the United States has revealed shocking new footage of animals being beaten, punched, thrown and tortured at Pilgrim’s Pride, the nation’s second largest chicken producer.
According to a Press Release issued by the animal welfare organization, its undercover investigator work at two facilities affiliated with Pilgrim’s Pride which is a division of Brazil-based JBS SA.
At a contract farm in Hull, Georgia, which houses an estimated 130,000 chickens, the property’s owner himself was witnessed repeatedly beating birds with a metal rod and twisting the necks of sick and injured chickens in “crude attempts to kill them.”
Meanwhile at a Pilgrim’s Pride slaughterhouse in Mt. Pleasant, Texas, chickens were observed being punched and violently shackled by their legs.
“The treatment of animals by Pilgrim’s Pride is shameful,” Matt Prescott, senior director of corporate policy for The Humane Society of the United States said in a Press Release. “From beating animals to inhumanely slaughtering them in their final moments, there’s simply no excuse for the abuse we documented in this multi-state investigation.”
The HSUS subsequently filed cruelty-to-animals’ complaints with the Madison County Sheriff’s Department in Danielsville, Georgia, and the Titus County Sheriff’s Office in Mt. Pleasant, Texas.
Despite claims made by Pilgrim’s Pride that its employees handling live chickens receive animal welfare training, the HSUS undercover investigator at this Texas facility received no such training whatsoever, even during a full week of orientation. Animal welfare was never mentioned.
In response, Pilgrim’s Pride released a statement after reportedly completing its own investigation into the allegations, calling it an isolated incident and declaring that the company does not tolerate animal abuse.
Pilgrim’s Pride has reportedly taken steps to suspend the delivery of chickens and terminate its contract with the Georgia Farm while there is no news yet on what is doing about the abuse that occurred at its slaughterhouse in Texas.
