Tyson fires workers embroiled in chicken torture

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Tyson fires workers embroiled in chicken torture

By ELIZABETH LEE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/15/08

Tyson Foods has fired several workers at chicken slaughterhouses in Cumming and in Union City, Tenn., in the wake of a federal investigation of animal cruelty charges, the company said this week.

Tyson also is stepping up management surveillance of areas where live chickens are handled and retraining workers, according to a statement from spokesman Gary Mickelson. The Springdale, Ark.-based company disciplined other workers. He declined to say how many employees had been fired.

The company is conducting an internal investigation of allegations made by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which sent an undercover investigator into the plants last fall.

The group, which promotes vegetarianism and animal welfare, notified the federal agriculture department of its concerns in mid-January, and posted video shot by its investigator online.

Both the agriculture department and Tyson said investigations are ongoing. The USDA has referred a concern about animal handling at the Union City, Tenn. plant to that state's agriculture department. The state veterinarian is reviewing the information, said Tom Womack, a spokesman for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.

There is no federal regulation governing humane handling of poultry, as there is for cattle and pork. But there are guidelines for good commercial practices for handling food animals that federal investigators are eyeing. Those would be actions that minimize excitement, discomfort or stress, says Amanda Eamich, a USDA spokeswoman.

"We did find some issues that were not considered to be good commercial practices, that fall outside our regulatory authority," Eamich said. "In one of those cases, we did refer the matter to appropriate state officials and notified plant management of our concern. The expectation in every case is that they be immediately addressed."

Tyson's investigation found that some activities shown in the PETA video warranted corrective action, while others were misrepresented because the birds had already been stunned and were unconscious, Mickelson said.

The video appeared to show workers throwing chickens and urinating on the plant floor , among other activities. Mickelson said Tyson's check found no evidence of any food safety concerns.

PETA is calling for Tyson and KFC, which uses Tyson as a supplier, to hire investigators to prevent incidents.

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By kelli

Apr 23, 2008 12:36 PM | Link to this

Whoops. Make that the 'earliest' post.

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2008/02/15/tyson_0215.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab#comment-23536602

By -k-

Apr 23, 2008 12:04 PM | Link to this

That latest post (jabster) is ridiculous.

Try not shooting the messanger and paying CLOSER attention to the message.

By Maryanne Appel

Feb 22, 2008 9:51 AM | Link to this

PETA, radical? I don't think they go far enough! Demanding better treatment for animals considered commodities and units of production? We must work, instead, towards the dismantling of animal
"farms" and slaughterhouses. Organic and "humanely raised and slaughtered" (how oxymoronic can we get!) are not the answers either, as sentient beings are still enslaved, suffer abuses and mutilations during their truncated lives, and brutally murdered as are their sisters and brothers in the factory system. All of this to produce what some misguided individuals consider
"food." Let's not be taken in by Tyson and their counterparts! Their bottom lines should not be weighed in how much money they make, but in the numbers of innocent lives they have taken.

By Maryanne Appel

Feb 22, 2008 9:34 AM | Link to this

PETA, radical? I don't think they go far enough! Demanding "better treatment" for animals considered commodities and units of production? The only way to ensure that these sentient beings, murdered by the billions for what some consider "food," is to work towards the dismantling of these animal
"farms" and slaughterhouses. Organic and "humanely raised and slaughtered"
(how oxymoronic can we get?) animals suffer abuses as well.

By Black Sheep

Feb 18, 2008 10:31 PM | Link to this

Believe it or not, some fool in the Kentucky legislature actually wishes to designate KFC tortured birds the official "picnic food" of the Bluegrass State. I weep for my beautiful Commonwealth.

By C.H.

Feb 18, 2008 9:12 AM | Link to this

Whether you love PETA or hate them is beside the point. The truth is STILL the truth, even if one disagrees with the source.

Obviously, there is some truth to these claims or workers would not have been fired.

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