Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 5/8/15


Mountaire Farms late Thursday said it would fire any employees involved in abuse of live chickens alleged on a video captured by an animal activist group that aired this week on ABC Eyewitness News 11-RALEIGH (WTVD).

"We are in the process of determining the authenticity of the video; however, we find the actions depicted to be totally unacceptable," the company said in a statement. "We have zero tolerance for animal abuse by our employees under any circumstances and have initiated a thorough investigation. We will immediately terminate any individuals involved in this alleged activity."

Mountaire noted that all its employees who work with live chickens are trained on proper bird handling techniques, and are responsible for immediately reporting any inhumane treatment they see. The company said it follows nationally accepted animal welfare guidelines, including third-party audits, and has a continuous training, monitoring and reporting program in place to ensure humane treatment of animals at all of its facilities.

The activist group Compassion Over Killing released the video just as the North Carolina legislature considers legislation intended to curb covert videos taken on farms.

Mountaire Farms employs more than 6,500 employees at facilities in Delaware, Maryland and North Carolina.

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