Last Friday, “Abby the Abused
Chicken and Mercy For Animals’ campaigns team wrapped up a national
demonstration tour against McDonald’s for the company’s failure to implement
meaningful animal welfare requirements for “broiler chickens killed for meat.
Abby and company were on the road for
eight weeks protesting in front of McDonald’s restaurants in 40 cities. The
tour followed the release of shocking hidden-camera footage that exposed the owners of a former McDonald’s Chicken
McNuggets supplier farm stabbing birds with spiked clubs and breaking their
necks by standing on their heads and pulling their wings or bodies. The farm
owners were recently convicted
of criminal animal cruelty.
Abby’s features and
injuries, such as a bloody broken wing, slit throat,
and open wounds, were born at a Hollywood
special effects studio. They paint a gory, real-life picture of a broiler
chicken’s brutal butchering at the slaughterhouse and tortured life on a
factory farm.
Crammed by the
thousands into filthy, windowless sheds, broiler chickens buckle under their
own unnatural body weight and chafe and develop boils and sores from the toxic,
ammonia-laden flooring. Without proper veterinary care,
birds’ wounds fester. Raised to grow too fat too fast, broiler chickens also
suffer painful skeletal and muscular deformities and frequently die of organ
failure.
Birds who survive are sent to the
slaughterhouse where they are dumped, shackled upside down, shocked, and have
their throats sliced open all while fully conscious and able to feel pain.
Despite the fact that chickens
account for more than 95 percent of the animals killed for food in the U.S.,
not a single federal law protects these social
and smart animals from abuse or neglect during their
lives on factory farms. They are also excluded from the federal Humane Methods
of Slaughter Act. Without legislation to protect these birds, it’s up to
companies to implement significant animal welfare standards.
That’s why Abby and hundreds of caring
consumers across the country took to the streets. They protested not only
McDonald’s, but also Tyson, Foster
Farms, and Gordon Food Service
after MFA investigations found sickening cruelty in their supply chains. In total, Abby has visited 70 cities
across the country to demand better treatment of birds.
You can help! Add your name to the
thousands of others calling for these companies to implement
meaningful animal welfare changes. Sign the petitions at:
And remember, the best way to
spare chickens and other farmed animals a life of suffering is to cut out or
cut back on meat, milk, and eggs. Find delicious vegetarian recipes and tips
at ChooseVeg.com.