Friday, July 10, 2015

Mercy for Animals strikes again

Mercy For Animals has struck again, this time with a video of sick chickens at a Tyson-owned farm in Deleware.

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.