Our recent investigation of a Chicago slaughterhouse uncovered the following conditions.:
- Crates of birds covered in encrusted feces, several crates stacked one on top of the other
- Birds transported in very poor and overcrowded condition
- Birds showing clear signs of suffering, some with splayed legs forced to squat in their own waste, some flapping wings continuously in a desperate attempt to be ambulatory
- Putrid smell and loud sounds of slamming crates creating public nuisance
- No staff on hand during delivery
- Truckers hauling birds into a detached, 2-car garage about 50ft. from main facility
- Birds presumably housed in this garage overnight which does not comply to food code rules
- Birds left in garage at least until the next day, denied food and water and languishing in these miserable and waste-ridden conditions.
View the footage.
Please call Commissioner Arwady at 312-747-9870 (and leave a message). Then follow up with an email to [email protected]. In your message, please tell her that you were outraged by the SFC footage at Aden Poultry and urge her to act to shut Aden down immediately. You may also include the link to our report and all footage.
Here is my eyewitness report. At 10:57 pm on January 7th, 2021, I arrived at Aden Poultry at 2731 W. Lawrence Ave. in the alley behind the slaughterhouse. The Middlebury truck delivering chickens was pulling into the alley from the other end. I watched the truck back into the driveway and parking area behind Aden. To the East of the driveway is an old garage. As is customary, the flatbed trucks used to haul chickens provide no protection from the elements, exposing 6-week-old chicks to weather extremes.
The two truckers unlocked the door to the garage (presumably Aden has given them keys). No staff from Aden was there at this time and their building was dark. As the truckers began pulling empty crates out of the garage and onto the truck, I approached the other side of the truck to get a closer look at the condition of the birds.
The putrid smell of waste hits you from about 200 feet away. Then you see how much waste is caked on the crates. The best way to describe these 6-week old chicks is like frozen lumps of dough, many with splayed legs, unable to stand, forced to crouch down (the height of the crates are about half of the height of their standing height), soiled by their own accumulating waste and the waste falling from other birds several levels above. Still, many are responsive and peer meekly out at me. Next, the truckers began to unload several crates of live birds and haul them into the dark, likely unheated 2-car garage.
The truckers worked fast, slamming the crates of birds down onto the pavement, and without any regard for the birds’ welfare. One could hear the birds vocalizing loudly and see them desperately fluttering their wings in a futile attempt to get on their feet. The truckers stacked several crates of birds on top of one another, each crate packed tightly with approximately 50 or more birds. The wings and feet of some birds are visibly extended outside of the crate floor as they are being thrown around which results in injuries. Presumably the birds will languish in this dark and cold garage at least until the business opens at 7am, if not later, without access to food and water, in these miserable and waste-ridden conditions.
