When I close my eyes, I still see chickens hung on a slaughter line, frantically flapping their wings. Scared and trying to escape, these birds had no chance.

I spent several weeks working undercover at a chicken slaughterhouse. John, I witnessed the horror of high-speed slaughter lines, and I need your help to end the suffering.

Chickens arrived at the slaughterhouse in cramped transport crates. A forklift moved five-high stacks of crates onto a machine that abruptly tilted them, and all the birds tumbled out. The process reminded me of garbage bins being raised and dumped. That's how these sensitive animals were treated—like trash.

Workers had to perform at an extremely fast pace—elbow to elbow, grabbing chickens and hanging them upside down onto metal shackles, where the animals dangled by their feet.

I'd sometimes see just body parts hanging from the shackles: feet and wings snagged and torn off.

Once, the power went out at the facility, and chickens were left hanging upside down in agony for over an hour and a half.

The COVID-19 crisis highlights how broken our food system really is. For years, Big Ag has successfully lobbied the government for faster and faster line speeds, placing profits over animal welfare, worker safety, and public health. During the pandemic, the industry still insists on operating slaughter lines at dangerously high speeds, even as slaughterhouse workers—who are expected to work hastily to keep up with the lines—get sick and die.

We can't allow this to continue.

That's why Mercy For Animals is calling on members of Congress to halt this horrific high-speed slaughter.

John, please take just 30 seconds to contact your legislators and urge them to protect animals, workers, and public health.

And if you have the capacity, make a gift to Mercy For Animals. Knowing that I have your support when I'm in the trenches documenting this suffering means the world to me.