Company spokesman Gary Mickelson said “at the time this
video was shot this past spring, this farm had birds that were sick with a
respiratory illness. As a result, what was shown in the video is not typical
for this or any other farm. It was also not a food safety issue.”.
Tyson uses third-party auditors to check on its farms for
such things as animal access to food and water, human-animal interaction and
worker training, Mickelson said.
“We’re continually looking for ways to improve how we
operate and this includes animal well-being. We’re constantly researching new
ways to keep our chickens healthy and safe,” he said.
Mercy For Animals said at a news conference that it wants
the poultry industry to adopt video monitoring to prevent abuse, to improve
living conditions for birds and to end the use of growth promotants and
selective breeding that results in growth-rate problems.
Mercy For Animals targeted Hybrid Turkeys of Kitchener last
year, leading to criminal charges that remain to be resolved in a court at
Woodstock. Hybrid dismissed employees after Mercy For Animals showed its
underground video of turkeys being roughly handled.
