Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 3/16/15

An expert panel review of the most recent video issued by Mercy for Animals to promote their goal of convincing consumers to stop eating animal proteins concluded some practices at a North Carolina Wayne Farms slaughter facility could be improved, but the panel disputed many of the abuse claims of the video.

The videos are often edited to take procedures out of context, narrated by celebrities and used to implicate both large animal protein processors and their customers. This video, narrated by celebrity Pamela Anderson, targets the country’s sixth largest integrated poultry processor and national foodservice distributor Gordon Food Service, which distributes its products.

Much of the video shows standard slaughter practices.  

“If people want to eat meat, we must kill animals. Some of the process isn't camera-friendly; it's not pretty,” said Dr. Chuck Hofacre, a veterinarian at the University of Georgia. “There are systems and processes in place to make sure it's carried out in a humane manner and I did not see animal abuse in this video."

Hofacre is a member of Animal Care Review Panel created by The Center for Food Integrity (CFI) to examine video and provide expert perspectives for food retailers, the poultry industry and the media.

The group that reviewed this video included Hofacre, Dr. Michael Hulet, an animal scientist at Pennsylvania State University and Dr. Ruth Newberry, an ethicist at Washington State University and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.  

The National Chicken Council issued details of the group’s assessment of the video, which can be viewed here.

Wayne Farms provided the following statement to Meatingplace:
Mercy for Animals recently released a video allegedly showing animal abuse at a Wayne Farms facility. Wayne Farms has a strong commitment to humane animal treatment. Our customers expect it and we demand it of ourselves.

We take all reports regarding animal welfare seriously. When this footage first surfaced in mid- 2014 we had the video analyzed by a well-recognized third-party expert. That review concluded that no animal abuse occurred. As an added measure, we also initiated an on-site audit and independent experts confirmed Wayne Farms follows the industry guidelines for ethical and humane treatment of these animals.

We want our customers, to know that we will continue monitoring our plant operations to insure that the most humane and USDA-recognized practices and technologies are used in the processing of poultry at Wayne Farms.

Wayne Farms LLC reports annual sales exceeding $2.2 billion. The company owns and operates 11 fresh and further-processed facilities throughout the Southeast, produces more than 2.6 billion pounds of poultry products each year.

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