Were Tyson poultry-slaughtering line speeds really the focal issue? COTATI, California––The “who, what, where, when” and “how” of an Animal Legal Defense Fund undercover video exposé of alleged animal and employee abuse at a Tyson Foods chicken slaughterhouse in Carthage, Texas were all identified in the September 14, 2015 ALDF media release announcing it. “Why,” […]
McDonald’s to phase out using eggs from caged hens
Phase-out to be completed 30 years after McDonald’s accepted statement of humane principles OAK BROOK, Illinois––The McDonald’s restaurant chain, buyer of more than two billion eggs per year, 4% of total U.S. egg production, on September 9, 2015 announced that it will phase out use of eggs from caged hens over the next […]
North Carolina “ag-gag” to take effect; legislature overturns veto
RALEIGH, N.C.––The North Carolina legislature on June 3, 2015 overturned governor Pat McCrory’s May 29, 2015 veto of an “ag-gag” bill, HB 405, passed by the state legislature 10 days earlier. Overturned by votes of 79-36 in the state house of representatives and 33-15 in the state senate, HB 405 will now take effect, making North […]
Whistleblower exposé of livestock research fuels ag-gag debate
OMAHA, SALT LAKE CITY, KANSAS CITY, OLYMPIA––Publishing a landmark exposé of the little-known U.S. Meat Animal Research Center on January 20, 2015, Michael Moss of The New York Times indirectly racheted up political pressure both for and against “ag-gag” laws. Meant to inhibit undercover investigators and other inside whistleblowers from exposing cruelty to animals within […]
Dairymen prefer to work in the dark
BOISE, Idaho––Idaho Dairymen’s Association lawyer Daniel Steenson was blunt in an April 2014 petition filed to seek court permission to help defend the newly passed state “ag-gag” statute. Wrote Steenson, “Without the protection the statute provides, Idaho Dairymen’s Association members will again be targeted for clandestine infiltration by individuals masquerading as employees to gather […]
Undercover videos push Tyson into requiring farm animal welfare audits
(November/December 2013) ALTOONA––Goaded by repeated undercover video exposés of rough handling and alleged neglect of livestock, Tyson Foods beef supply chain manager Lora Wright on December 9, 2013 warned the Iowa Cattlemen Association’s annual convention in Altoona that Tyson will soon require beef and chicken suppliers to pass animal welfare audits. “A third-party auditor will […]
Mercy for Animals exposes cruelty at a Texas factory catfish farm
First undercover video from inside the catfishing industry DALLAS––Probably more fish consumers were puzzled––at first––than shocked on January 19, 2011 when Mercy for Animals released undercover video of alleged criminal animal abuse at Catfish Corner, in eastern Dallas County. “I don’t get too many calls about inhumaneness to fish,” Dallas fish market owner Rex […]