Poultry

Some of the worse animal abuses are inflicted on poultry

To date there are no federal welfare laws governing the raising, transport, or slaughter of chickens in the U.S. Chickens bleed, hurt, and cry just like any other creature. They deserve humane protection under the law.

Chickens raised for meat are kept in large warehouses, which typically hold 25,000 birds.

In crowded groups of thousands, no social order is possible, and in their frustration, the birds peck at one another so vehemently that they draw blood and even kill each other.

To keep the birds wakeful and eating, lights are kept on for 23 hours a day.

Meat chickens are genetically altered to grow twice as fast and twice as large as their ancestors

Fleshy bodies of broiler chickens grow heavy so quickly that development of their bones and joints can't keep up…Many of these animals crouch or hobble about in pain on flawed feet and legs.

Modern meat chickens also experience crippling leg disorders, as their legs are not capable of supporting their abnormally heavy bodies.

Chickens suffer from congestive heart failure because their heart and lungs are not developed enough to support the remainder of their rapidly growing body.

Crowded together in warehouses which causes trampling and fighting. They are de-beaked.

Up to 60 percent of chickens sold at the supermarket are infected with live salmonella bacteria.

Poultry Slaughter

Handlers frequently break chicken's wings when they snatch them up many at a time and stuff them into tiny cages on the transport truck.

At the slaughterhouse, the birds are pulled from the crates and dumped on a conveyor belt. Some birds die after being crushed by machinery or vehicles operating near the unloading area.

Fully conscious birds are hung by their feet from metal shackles on a moving conveyor rail.

The birds' heads are dragged through an electrified bath of water, which immobilizes them but they are commonly still conscious and capable of feeling pain.

After passing through the stunning tank, the birds' throats are slashed, usually by a mechanical blade, and blood begins rushing out of their bodies.

The blade misses some birds that then proceed to the scalding tank where they are submerged in boiling hot water.

Birds missed by the killing blade are boiled alive. The industry has a term for these birds. They are called "redskins." Every day millions of chickens endure the agony of severe electric shocks, inadequate stunning, badly cut necks, and entering the scald tank alive.