This week, the nonprofit farmed animal advocacy organization Compassion Over Killing released findings of a heartbreaking undercover investigation at a hatchery for baby chicks raised for meat. The Pennsylvania-based company, Bell & Evans, supplies chicken to Whole Foods and claims to value animal welfare, yet the conditions recorded on video are anything but humane.
Among other horrific abuses, the investigation revealed day-old baby chicks with bloody open wounds, sick birds dumped into a grinder while fully conscious, and dead chicks left in baskets with live birds.
MFA’s own undercover investigation at Hy-Line International, the world’s largest hatchery for egg-laying chicks, shows that conditions at Bell & Evans are not isolated. In fact, the mechanized and callous handling, lack of veterinary care for sick animals and separation of baby animals from their mothers at birth are standard within the industry. “Thrown, dropped, mutilated and ground-up alive”–these are the words we used to describe our findings at Hy-Line, and they capture the situation at Bell & Evans just as well.
Time and time again, undercover investigations reveal a culture of cruelty across the meat, dairy and egg industries. Not a single federal law provides protection to animals during their lives on factory farms, resulting in rampant and horrific abuse.
It is up to each of us to protect animals from such cruelty. Thankfully, we can do so every time we eat, simply by choosing delicious and healthy vegan meals. Visit ChooseVeg.com to learn how.
Photo: hdwallpaperslovely.com