McDonald's, Tyson Cut Ties to Farm Over Alleged Animal Abuse
August 27 2015 - 2:30PM
Dow Jones News
McDonald's Corp. and Tyson Foods Inc. severed ties with a
Tennessee poultry farm after an animal-rights group on Thursday
released video footage from the facility that showed chickens being
stabbed, clubbed and crushed to death.
Mercy For Animals said it documented animal abuse and inhumane
conditions at T&S Farms, which the group said supplied chickens
to a nearby Tyson processing plant that produced chicken McNuggets
and other chicken products for McDonald's.
The video is the latest in a series of exposé s by animal-rights
groups that seek to spotlight brutality and poor living conditions
for commercially raised poultry and livestock. Such groups push for
better treatment of animals and stricter policing of operations by
top meat-buying restaurants and food companies.
While the video investigations typically draw swift responses
from the targeted companies, the tactics also have drawn pushback
from lawmakers in states like Iowa, Missouri and Kansas that have
passed laws barring workers from recording undercover videos,
backed up with the potential for fines or jail time. Lawmakers also
have criticized activists groups for recording animal abuses rather
than immediately intervening.
T&S Farms, located in Dukedom, Tenn., didn't immediately
respond to requests for comment Thursday.
A spokeswoman for McDonald's said the company and Tyson, the top
U.S. meatpacker, were investigating the farm and will "reinforce"
McDonalds' expectations for animal treatment on farms that supply
meat to the fast-food chain.
"We believe treating animals with care and respect is an
integral part of a responsible supply chain and find the behavior
depicted in this video to be completely unacceptable," she
said.
A Tyson spokesman said it had terminated the farm's contract
with the meat company. He said animal welfare is a priority for
Tyson and that the video showed "inappropriate methods used to
euthanize sick and injured chickens."
No Tyson chickens currently are at the T&S facility, he
said, and Tyson officials "don't believe this video accurately
depicts the treatment of chickens by the thousands of farmers who
supply us." Tyson relies on about 4,000 farmers to raise its
chickens, which Tyson breeds, hatches, slaughters and
processes.
Matt Rice, director of investigations for Mercy for Animals,
said his group targeted T&S Farms for an investigation "at
random." It sent a member to work there and secretly record
conditions over the past month. The group's video showed farm
workers using a long stick with a spike on its end to strike
chickens, and stepping on birds' heads while pulling on their
bodies to break their necks.
"At this Tyson contract farm, chickens were treated like mere
meat-producing machines," said Mr. Rice.
He said the group's investigator raised concerns with the farm's
owner, and later showed the footage to local law-enforcement
officials. Randall McGowan, investigative captain with the Weakley
County Sheriff's Office, said officials reviewed the video and gave
a copy to the local district attorney, who will decide whether or
not to press criminal charges. The prosecutor wasn't immediately
available for comment.
McDonald's, the world's largest restaurant company by revenue,
has been the target of animal welfare groups before. In 2000,
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals waged protests against
McDonald's over a practice called forced molting, in which hens
near the end of their productive life are deprived of food to jolt
them into laying more eggs. McDonald's pressured its egg suppliers
to stop that practice.
Mercy For Animals, based in West Hollywood, Calif., previously
has targeted a McDonald's supplier. In 2011, the group released
footage of an egg supplier that crammed hens into wire cages and
other abuses. McDonald's dropped that egg supplier afterward.
Julie Jargon contributed to this article.
Write to Jacob Bunge at jacob.bunge@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 27, 2015 14:15 ET (18:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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