A Mercy For Animals hidden-camera investigation gives a shocking look behind the closed doors of Butterball factory farms—revealing the heartbreaking cruelty and neglect animals face at the hands of the world’s largest turkey producer.
The startling investigation comes less than a year after MFA exposed horrific cruelty at another Butterball factory farm, a groundbreaking case that led to the first-ever felony cruelty to animals conviction related to birds used for food production in US history.
MFA’s latest investigation exposes an ongoing culture of cruelty at Butterball, including:
- workers kicking and stomping on birds, dragging them by their fragile wings and necks, and maliciously throwing turkeys onto the ground or on top of other birds;
- birds suffering from serious untreated illnesses and injuries, including open sores, infections, and broken bones; and
- workers grabbing birds by their wings or necks and violently slamming them into tiny transport crates with no regard for their welfare.
These abuses are virtually identical to the acts of extreme cruelty and violence documented by MFA at a Butterball turkey factory farm in 2011.
Following the investigation, MFA immediately went to law enforcement with extensive video footage and a detailed legal complaint outlining the culture of cruelty at Butterball. Law enforcement is now investigating.
As this investigation reveals, before they end up on Thanksgiving dinner plates, turkeys killed for Butterball are routinely crowded into filthy warehouses, left to
die from festering, bloody wounds, and thrown, kicked, and beaten by factory farm workers.
Thankfully, concerned consumers can help prevent the needless suffering of turkeys at the hands of Butterball by making informed choices. This year, please consider giving the turkeys a reason to be thankful by carving out a new Thanksgiving tradition and digging in to any number of delicious vegan, turkey-free alternatives.
Learn more about turkeys raised for meat at our feature, 12 Reasons You May Never Want to Eat Turkey Again.
