There’s no justification for what this hen endured.

Trapped inside a sealed acrylic box that filled up with steam, she gasped for air, threw herself against the sides of her enclosure, and slowly cooked alive as researchers watched on. This was the “practice run” for a mass extermination operation that the meat and egg industries would later inflict upon millions of animals in US factory farms. This was ventilation shutdown plus (VSD+).

It’s hard to imagine anyone approving of such an act. But after seeing this footage, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) did just that.

It’s safe to say the AVMA wasn’t banking on you ever seeing the evidence it pinned its endorsement to. In fact, it took a public records request, made by Animal Outlook, to reveal the level of suffering endured by animals in this horrifying lab experiment funded by the US Poultry and Egg Association.

And if you ask me, funding this experiment was a highly calculated industry move. Factory farms—with their walls packed full of stressed animals in putrid conditions—are breeding grounds for deadly viruses that can jump species and threaten human lives. With 94% of farmed animals confined in these places, future outbreaks are inevitable. But rather than reduce crowding and improve animal welfare, factory farms in the US are increasingly opting for extreme disease control measures like VSD+, with the AVMA’s coveted stamp of approval.

Right now, as bird flu continues its spread, the number of animals being subjected to VSD+ is at an all-time high. That’s why The Humane League, other animal welfare organizations, and caring veterinarians are urgently calling on the AVMA to reverse its approval of VSD+. We’ve asked nicely. We’ve asked loudly. We’ve published a massive newspaper ad that was seen by hundreds of thousands of people. With your help, we even flooded the AVMA’s social media pages, phone lines, and email inboxes…

We know the AVMA got the message—but it’s still ignoring you, just like it’s ignoring the cries of millions of animals.

As a veterinarian myself, the AVMA’s betrayal of animals cuts especially deep. But the more they dodge their responsibility to animal welfare, the brighter the light we will shine on their dark secrets.

Thank you for supporting our work, spreading the word, and helping to hold animal abusers accountable.

For the animals,

P.S. While the AVMA continues to endorse VSD+, the meat and egg industries will continue to roast millions of animals alive, with impunity. We think the AVMA deserves to be held accountable for endorsing this heinous experiment. Do you?