Last fall, an Animal Outlook undercover investigator worked at Jannat Farm in Virginia, a facility contracted by Tyson Foods to raise chickens for meat. This investigator documented a flock of 150,000 birds from the time they were newborn chicks until they were sent to slaughter.
Yesterday, nine charges of animal cruelty were filed against the facility manager, and eight charges were filed against the owner.
Animal Outlook’s investigation, conducted last fall at Jannat Farm in Virginia, documented specific acts of violence, such as workers kicking and throwing birds, and widespread abysmal conditions. Footage shows ill, injured, and deformed birds left to suffer, sometimes for days; food and water deprivation; bug-infested feed and rat corpses; and violations of biosecurity protocols amidst a bird flu outbreak. Water lines were too high for many young birds to reach, and they can be seen jumping helplessly for water. Food ran out in the chicken houses multiple times. Dead chickens were left to decay in and around feed trays and inside the chicken houses.
A large pile of dead chicks removed from the inside of a chicken house
A small, bloody chick with an exposed skull and a severely damaged eye clings to life.
The charges against a facility’s owner and manager show that cruelty comes from the top down. Cruelty in animal agriculture is not a story of isolated acts. It is widespread abuse and cruel conditions and practices that are endemic to the industry. It is imperative to stop eating animals to refuse to support this inherently cruel industry.
While charging the facility owner and manager is a big step forward for animals, we maintain that Tyson is also legally responsible for the cruelty we uncovered, as outlined in our detailed memorandum to law enforcement. Despite Tyson marketing itself as upholding a “moral or ethical obligation” of “proper animal handling” and claiming to have “zero tolerance to animal abuse,” our most recent investigation, as well as those conducted in 2016 and 2017, show that Tyson’s claim that it cares about its birds is false.
All of this abuse and suffering occurs for one reason only - for greedy corporations like Tyson to make money.
I know that with you by our side, we’ll continue to make progress for animals like those who suffered at Jannat Farm.
With gratitude,
Jareb Gleckel
Legal Counsel
P.S. Want to know more about this investigation and the lies the chicken industry tells? Check out this Voxarticle to learn more.
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