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Surge of Whistleblowers Confirms:
Cruelty and Neglect the Norm at Hybrid Turkeys
March 24, 2014 By Anna Pippus for
MFA
A recent Mercy For Animals Canada
undercover investigation documented horrific abuse against turkeys, including
workers kicking, throwing, and beating turkeys with a shovel, and birds with
gaping, festering wounds left to suffer without any veterinary care. The
company, Hybrid Turkeys, repeatedly claimed this was an isolated incident.
Now, shocking new allegations from a number of whistleblowers reveal that far
from being an isolated incident, the cruel treatment of turkeys is a pattern
across Hybrid Turkeys facilities. Despite receiving numerous reports of abuse
and injuries, management has repeatedly shown a callous disregard for the
well-being of birds.
Nicole Janssen, a former Hybrid Turkeys employee, says that birds would go days
without food, carcasses were left to rot in pens for other birds to eat, and so
many birds had to be put down because of improper handling procedures that the
company couldn't keep up with their disposal.
Ms. Janssen stated that her fellow employees "were ripping off wings. They were
ripping off feet. They were brutalizing these birds." She reported her concerns
to management, but nothing was done. Eventually, she was forced to quit because
the abuse was too hard to watch.
Another whistleblower, who worked at the same farm as our investigator, says
injured birds were not treated. He saw birds with raw and bloody backs, broken
wings, and swollen eyes. Despite raising concerns with a supervisor and even a
manager well over a year ago, Hybrid Turkeys took absolutely no corrective
action. "I was told as long as they're doing their jobs laying eggs, they
stay alive," he said.
Hybrid Turkeys has tried to claim injured birds were in "recovery pens," but
as documented by Mercy For Animals Canada and now corroborated by the former
employee, there were no recovery pens. Trying to cover up their
disturbing culture of animal abuse, Hybrid Turkeys has outright lied to
consumers.
Comment:
This is a huge corporation concerned with its bottom line only. Profits at any
cost. Such monstrous and blatant abuse of these defenceless birds should leave
us all furious. Sadistic workers and managers who look the other way while
denying such evil is an egregious example of inhumanity. We can knock powerful
industry giants like Hybrid to the ground by opting for a plant-based diet.
Don’t buy the lies! We must rail against bureaucrats, policy-makers, and the
politicians who protect such immoral companies. Together we can make a new
tomorrow.
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