Nearly 9,000 Chickens Baked Alive in 90-Degree Heat en Route to Springdale Slaughterhouse; PETA Demands Criminal Probe

For Immediate Release:
January 9, 2025

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

A shocking just-released U.S. Department of Agriculture report reveals that 8,861 chickens died of apparent heat stroke in cages en route to the George’s Processing Inc. slaughterhouse in Springdale in a single day last year. In response, PETA today sent an urgent letter to Major Stacie Rhoads, Commander of the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division, urging her agency to investigate and file appropriate criminal charges against those responsible.

According to the report, on July 31 a federal inspector “observed a large quantity” of dead chickens “too numerous to count” being separated from live chickens at the slaughterhouse. George’s staff later reported that the chickens had died in transport from a single farm, where workers had apparently neglected to remove the birds’ food prior to loading them onto trailers, as is standard procedure. Per the report, this oversight—combined with temperatures in the upper 90s and a heat index of approximately 100 degrees—“caused the birds to overheat” and killed them.

“Thousands of caged chickens baked to death in agony on trucks, while the traumatized survivors were cruelly slaughtered,” says PETA Vice President of Legal Advocacy Daniel Paden. “PETA is calling for a criminal investigation on behalf of these birds and urges everyone to please go vegan to help spare animals a horrific trip to the slaughterhouse.”

PETA is pursuing charges under state law because federal officials haven’t prosecuted any inspected slaughterhouses for acts of abuse since at least 2007.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness and free vegan starter kits for anyone thinking of making the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Rhoads follows.

January 9, 2025

Major Stacie Rhoads

Commander

Criminal Investigation Division

Arkansas State Police

Dear Major Rhoads:

I’m writing to request that your agency investigate and file applicable criminal charges against the individual(s) responsible for the heat-related deaths of nearly 8,900 animals—on a single day—while being hauled through Arkansas to the George’s Processing Inc. slaughterhouse located at 1306 N. Kansas St. in Springdale. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) documented the matter in the attached report, which the agency just made available to the public.

On July 31, 2024, an FSIS inspector stationed at the slaughterhouse “observed a large quantity” of dead chickens “too numerous to count … being sorted” and “rapidly … deposited” into a pile that was 6 feet across and 3 feet high. The birds’ remains were transferred to barrels—also “too numerous to count”—and put on pallets outside.

George’s Processing staff later reported to FSIS that 8,861 chickens had died during transport that day from a single farm, which is not identified in the FSIS report. Farm staff had reportedly neglected to remove feed from the birds before they were caught and hauled to the slaughterhouse (as is common in the “broiler chicken” industry). According to the FSIS report, this oversight—and temperatures as high as the upper 90s with a heat index of approximately 100 degrees—“caused the birds to overheat” and resulted in their deaths.

This conduct appears to violate A.C.A. § 5-62-103(a)(6)—and be grounds for thousands of charges, pursuant to subsection (b) of that statute. Arkansas law affords these 8,861 victims their only chance at a small measure of justice. We urge your division to seek it, given that FSIS’ simple report on this matter carries no penalties and doesn’t preempt criminal liability under state law for cruelty to animals.

Thank you for your time and consideration and for the important work that you do.

Sincerely,

Daniel Paden

Vice President of Legal Advocacy