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Rabbit Advocacy Animal Matters
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Lilydale sold for $130MFebruary 18, 2010 CBC News Edmonton-based Lilydale Inc. announced Thursday it is being acquired by Sofina Foods for more than $130 million. Privately owned Sofina will pay $75 million in cash and debentures for the producer-owned poultry processor, and assume about $55 million in debt. Lilydale has plants in Edmonton, Calgary, Abbotsford and Port Coquitlam, B.C., and Wynyard, Sask. Markham-based Sofina has also committed to spending $20 million over the next two years to upgrade Lilydale's production capacity. "Over the past several years, Lilydale has been approached by a number of different companies regarding potential transactions; however, the company did not feel that any of those potential suitors were the right fit until now," chairman Don Sundgaard said in a statement. Sofina has 1,200 employees at six facilities and sells products under the Fletchers, Cuddy, Quality Meats and Vienna brands. Lilydale has 2,100 employees at two Edmonton plants, and single facilities in Calgary, Abbotsford and Port Coquitlam, B.C., and Wynyard, Sask. The new company will have more than $800 million in revenue, second only to Maple Leaf Foods. Lilydale's shareholders will vote on the deal April 6. Lilydale was established in 1940, when its primary business was providing eggs to Great Britain during the Second World War. Turkeys abused at Abbotsford company, animal rights group claims October 24, 2016 Vikki Hopes, Abbotsford News The group that exposed a Chilliwack dairy farm for the alleged abuse of cows in 2014 has now released hidden-camera video footage that it says shows turkeys being “shackled, shocked, cut open and scalded alive” at an Abbotsford poultry company. The video was released Monday and posted on the website of Mercy for Animals, which recorded the footage at Lilydale Food Products on Marshall Road. The organization says it is now demanding that Lilydale’s parent company, Sofina Foods, take immediate action “by adopting meaningful animal welfare policies to address the extreme animal abuse documented.” …. Carmina Gooch’s e-mail to Sofina Foods and Lilydale. Other letter writers also expressed extreme outrage, requesting “if you have one ounce of humanity in your company please STOP.” I am well aware of the horrific practises involved in the animals we use as food, and the undercover video of the turkeys at the Abbotsford slaughterplant on Marshall Rd. had me sickened and outraged. The CFIA website lists Lilydale as a repeat animal transportation violator, and in 2015 it was fined $160,000 for offences under the Health of Animals Regulations and the Meat Inspection Regulations. Now, Mercy for Animals, has uncovered extreme inhumanity on a daily basis, and while the animal agriculture industry deems such practises legal, it is morally and ethically wrong. Such cruelty cannot be condoned under any circumstances. "They were yanking turkeys out of transport crates, they were violently shackling them upside down on the slaughter line, included were very severely sick, injured and dying turkeys that were also shackled upside down… they were dragged through vats of electrified water, they were painfully shocked … they then had their throats sliced open and then they were dunked into scalding tanks. And all still alive and able to feel pain.” Instead of the electrified pools being used to stun the birds and the automated cutter used to slice throats, the least Sofina could do is change to Controlled Atmosphere Killing. Other large food providers in the country have already taken the first steps to improve animal welfare, and now it is your responsibility to step up and do the same. I ask that Lilydale and Sofina act quickly to end egregious animal abuse at its facilities and in its supply chain.
June 12, 2017 Undercover video shows ‘sadistic’ animal abuse on B.C. farms: animal rights group June 13, 2017 comment: The graphic undercover video shot by Mercy for Animals depicts multiple workers throwing, hitting, dismembering and killing chickens, and forcing the birds into violent sexual acts with each other. The law must seek proper justice (although no punishment will be fitting) for the tortured and voiceless victims of this most vile crime!! We can all take action to help prevent such abuses within the industry, and as consumers, our power is tremendous if we simply keep animal products off our plates. If there’s no demand, there’s no supply. The video: Chicken Torture |