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HSUS takes Wyo. pig facility complaint to the SEC
Story Date: 5/21/2012
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Source: Dani Friedland, MEATINGPLACE, 5/18/12
Following its latest undercover video release, the Humane Society of the United States has filed a complaint against Tyson Foods Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The complaint alleges that Tyson is unlawfully deceiving its stakeholders about its animal care practices and policies with regards to undercover footage from Wyoming Premium Farms. HSUS says the facility is a Tyson supplier; Tyson says the farm is not connected to its pork.
HSUS points specifically to the press release Tyson put out in response to the video, alleging that statements about its practices as well as the Pork Quality Assurance Plus program are false or misleading.
HSUS goes on to ask that the SEC “exercise its investigative and enforcement powers to stop Tyson from deceiving stakeholders with deceptive assertions and omissions relating to animal welfare.”
"We’ve not seen any complaint filed with the SEC so it’s difficult to provide a specific comment," Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson told Meatingplace. "However, we will note that according to a new Humane Watch survey, HSUS appears to be deceiving its donors. The survey of more than 1,000 donors to HSUS, found that 90 percent were unaware that the organization gives just 1 percent of its budget to local pet shelters. After learning that the HSUS did not spend a majority of its funds assisting local pet shelters, 80 percent of the HSUS donors polled believed the group engaged in deceptive fundraising practices. Click here to download more information about the poll."
"As we have previously stated, we are appalled by the mistreatment of the animals shown in the video taken at the Wyoming farm and have discontinued buying animals from the farm," Mickelson said. "While the video was offensive, the mistreatment shown had nothing to do with gestation crates. Let’s also make it clear that Tyson does not own, operate or have any contractual relationship with the Wyoming farm, which is primarily involved in providing feeder pigs to other companies not affiliated with Tyson Foods."
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