Baby Chicks’ Dead Bodies Cover Floor of Filthy Shed (Eyewitness Video)
Severe injuries, dead and dying chicks, rotting bodies scattered on the feces-covered floor of dank, dark sheds: This is the gist of the chicken farm footage recently sent to PETA by an anonymous eyewitness, and it’s why our message has always been “Go vegan”—because in the chicken industry, this is the norm:
In communication with PETA, the videographer explained how one baby chick’s “neck was so broken that her head was being dragged on the ground; she had no choice but to trip over her own head as she tried to walk.” We wish this person would name this filthy farm, which would allow us to demand that the owners make changes and push local law enforcement to investigate. But we don’t need to know the farm’s identity to be certain of one important fact: Suffering like that shown above is what chickens used for food endure every day on farms across the country.
For decades, PETA exposés and undercover investigations have revealed similar rampant abuse of chickens in the meat industry.
Even chickens raised on so-called “humane” farms are subjected to cruel industry standards. Consider PETA U.K.’s eyewitness accounts of two farms that allegedly raised chickens in a manner described as “high welfare” (a term that Americans may know better as “humanely raised”). Just as with the unidentified farm above, the floors of sheds on these U.K. farms were strewn with the bodies of dead chickens—some birds had to clamber over their friends’ corpses in order to reach food or water.
The throats of chickens who survive the miserable conditions on farms are slit when they’re around 6 weeks old.
A PETA Australia exposé of the country’s largest chicken producer unveiled comparable horrors, too, including that many lame, injured, or sick birds suffered and died slowly.
And in the U.S., PETA’s own exposés have blown the lid off the chicken industry, revealing widespread suffering of individuals who deserve better. At a massive hatchery operated by Sanderson Farms, Inc. (which supplies chicken meat to Kroger, Sysco, Arby’s, and Chili’s), PETA’s investigator observed that chicks hatched alone in barren plastic crates, deprived of warmth, comfort, and mothering—some gasped for air and were too weak to stand or lift their heads. Just as in this anonymous person’s footage, at Sanderson, dying and dead chicks were scattered all around and one had sustained what appeared to be a broken neck.
And at a Tyson slaughterhouse in Heflin, Alabama (a major KFC supplier), a PETA investigator observed workers stab, punch, and decapitate chickens, along with violently throwing them into shackles. Supervisors were aware of most of the abuse but did nothing to stop it.
The Only Surefire Way to Avoid Supporting This Suffering: Go Vegan
Aren’t these chickens’ lives more important than a penchant for flesh?
The only acceptable answer is “yes,” and the only adequate action is to leave chickens and all other animals in peace—and opt for delicious, healthy vegan options instead. Grocery store brands like Alpha Foods (which makes next-level Chik’n Nuggets) and fast-food chains like Jack in the Box (which is testing an Unchicken Sandwich) are making going vegan a cinch!
And while we still don’t know the identity of the farm seen in the footage sent by the anonymous whistleblower, you can take direct action for birds who need your help—discover what PETA uncovered while visiting Walmart egg supplier Trillium Farm Holdings, LLC, in Ohio and how you can speak up for abused, miserable hens:
