Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 1/6/16


Perdue Farms has severed its ties with two contract poultry farms, including the North Carolina farm where a member of an outside catching crew was convicted of animal cruelty depicted in an undercover video.

“We have ended our relationship with the two farms where the abuse occurred,” Perdue spokesperson Julie DeYoung told Meatingplace in an email. “Even though they were not directly involved in the mistreatment, we trust our contract farmers to ensure that our chickens are cared for appropriately, and unfortunately that did not happen here.”

Danny Miranda was convicted on three counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty charges and sentenced to 45 days in jail, 12 months probation and was ordered not to work with animals. He was shown in the video kicking and stomping birds while working at Deese Farms and Hideaway Farms, which are contract growers for Perdue. The animal activist group Mercy For Animals recorded the undercover video last fall and released the footage in December.

DeYoung added that Perdue has worked with the company whose crews catch the company’s chickens “to address the mishandling of chickens depicted in the video and they have retrained all catching crews on proper handling techniques.”

Tom Deese, the owner of the two farms involved in the situation, declined to comment when reached by the Richmond County Daily Journal. He reportedly had been a Perdue contract grower since 1992.

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