Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 9/14/15


Tyson Foods is the subject of a second undercover video inside of a few weeks, one that was released Monday showing the alleged mistreatment of chickens at its poultry slaughter facility in Carthage, Texas.
On Monday, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) released the footage.

“Tyson’s expectations of line speeds are totally unrealistic, and they push workers to ignore standards meant to protect animals, food safety and their own safety,” Carter Dillard, ALDF director of litigation, said in the video.
But in a statement emailed to Meatingplace, the company confirmed that it operates within the USDA’s line speed parameters.

“The USDA has authority over production rates. We operate our plants — including the one in Carthage — well within the limits set by the USDA. The safety of our team members is very important to us. We continuously monitor our facilities to make sure they’re safe. Each team member is trained to work safely in their job and daily safety meetings are held to keep safety top of mind. Team members can also report any workplace safety concerns to their supervisor, a member of management or our compliance and ethics hotline,” according to the statement.

The 3-minute-19-second video includes an interview with the former employee who filmed inside the facility; in the video she is shown in shadow and is not identified.
It is the second undercover investigation released over mistreatment allegations against Tyson Foods in as many months. In July, Mercy for Animals released footage from a farm contracted by Tyson Foods, and within a month, Tyson said it had terminated its contract with a farmer who grew chickens for the company.

The ALDF also has filed three complaints against the company:
• with the USDA concerning Tyson's animal handling practices and alleged food safety violations that it says violate the Poultry Products Inspection Act;
• with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) citing what it says are unsafe working conditions for employees, including repetitive motion stress injuries and the risk of being maimed and/or injured by the conveyor belts; and
• with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging that Tyson Foods overstated the priority it puts on animal welfare in corporate and investor materials.
ALDF and Mercy for Animals are two of a coalition of animal rights activist organizations that have formally petitioned USDA to amend regulations related to the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and the Federal Meat Inspection Act.

The coalition said that the goal of the petition is to both change some of the regulations regarding how livestock is treated on its way to slaughter and to hold USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspectors to the letter of the laws already in place.

“Everyone who works with live animals in our plants — including the person who secretly shot this video — is trained in proper animal handling and instructed to report anything they believe is inappropriate. They can report to their supervisor, the Tyson Foods compliance and ethics hotline and even one of the USDA inspectors who have access to all parts of the plant, including live animal handling areas. During the timeframe we believe this video was shot, we have no record of any employees reporting claims of animal handling violations,” according to the company statement sent to Meatingplace. “In addition to training, we regularly conduct our own internal animal handling audits in our plants. Our operations are also subject to third-party audits.”

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