Expert statements on Butterball animal cruelty.

Independent, nationally and world-renowned academic and professional experts in bird welfare and veterinary medicine reviewed the video footage from MFA's undercover investigation of this Butterball factory farm. Below are some of their statements:

Dr. Grandin is considered the world's leading expert on farmed-animal welfare. She is an associate professor of livestock behavior at Colorado State University and an animal welfare advisor to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the meat industry. Dr. Grandin states:

Dr. Balcombe is an ethologist with bachelors and master's degrees in biology, and a doctorate in animal behavior from the University of Tennessee. He is the author of four books on animal behavior, as well as more than 40 book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Balcombe states:

This film depicts brutal, callous and cruel handling of domesticated turkeys. It shows heavy birds being dragged by the head, neck or wing(s), kicked roughly, and thrown violently.

Dr. Hofve received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Colorado State University in 1994. Her veterinary practice includes farmed animals. Dr. Hofve states:

The callous brutality with which turkeys were individually handled in this video is horrifying. Frequently in the video, birds were grabbed by a single wing or leg, or even worse, by their necks, and dragged or thrown without regard to the fear or pain the animals were experiencing or the potential injuries being caused.

[T]his extreme depth and breadth of abuse at this facility is deplorable, and absolutely cannot be tolerated.

Sara Shields holds a doctorate in animal behavior from the University of California, Davis, and has extensive experience as a research scientist, teacher, and consultant in animal welfare, with an emphasis on the well-being of poultry.

The handling of birds during loading for slaughter as depicted in this video footage is unacceptable. There is never a valid reason to throw, kick, hit or drag birds at any stage of the production cycle. Turkeys are fully capable of feeling pain, fear, stress and of suffering, and the way they are treated in the video is clearly abusive.

Dr. Schrader is a practicing veterinarian, who obtained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Schrader has over 35 years of experience working with animals, particularly animals with serious, difficult-to-diagnose disorders. She performs post-mortem examinations on animal victims of abuse and neglect and provides expert testimony in such cases. Dr. Schrader states:

In my opinion, the practices of this facility are clearly inhumane and result in severe suffering and distress to the birds confined therein. There appears to be no concern for the welfare of these animals, and they are beaten, thrown and kicked, as well as allowed to suffer with open, filthy wounds, injuries and infections.

Dr. Teachout is a practicing veterinarian, who graduated from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. She also holds an advanced degree in veterinary clinical pathology from Western College of Veterinary Medicine and has completed additional coursework in farmed-animal welfare. Dr. Teachout states:

I believe there is serious animal abuse occurring at this facility. They are treated as if they are inanimate objects. The kicking in particular appears to be delivered with the intent to harm the bird. Beating a bird to death is also clear and severe animal cruelty. The animals are suffering greatly in this facility due to egregious, overt violence aimed at them as well as unconcealed disregard for their welfare. The birds are not living a life remotely worth living. Their world is full of fear, distress, pain, injury and illness as witnessed by this video. A culture of blatant and severe animal mistreatment has been allowed to flourish unchecked, and for that reason, this facility should be shut down immediately.

Dr. Wakefield holds a Veterinary Medical Doctorate and uses her background to assist Humane Law Enforcement officers in New York City with animal cruelty investigations and to treat the victims. Her expertise, which includes the care of farmed animals, has been widely featured on the Animal Precinct television series. Dr. Wakefield states:

Video footage of the turkeys on this farm exhibits inappropriate handling causing unnecessary stress and injury such as broken wings and legs. Untreated wounds and illnesses are evidence of inadequate husbandry and sanitation. These turkeys experience needless pain and suffering.

Dr. Rollin is a distinguished professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University and is well known internationally for his over 30 years of work in animal welfare. He was a major architect of federal laws protecting laboratory animals, and has written two books on farmed-animal welfare. He serves on the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production and is an expert witness on animal welfare issues in the U.S. and abroad. Dr. Rollin states:

There is absolutely no reason to handle the animals as roughly and unthinkingly as these workers do. Dragging the turkeys by the neck or wing; kicking them in order to move them is gratuitous, and indeed counterproductive, since it will inevitably create stress, pain, injury.

The video depicts a large number of animals suffering from horrible injuries, including fractures, deep sores, and large areas of necrosis. There is no indication that the animals are ever treated, nor are they put out of their misery.

Over the past forty years, Dr. Rogers has made outstanding contributions in the fields of animal neuroscience and behavior. Dr. Rogers founded the Research Centre for Neuroscience and Animal Behaviour at the University of New England, where she also chaired a number of committees. Dr. Rogers has served as the president of the Australian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour and as the president of the International Society for Comparative Psychology. She is currently a professor emeritus of Neuroscience and Animal Behaviour at the University of New England and a member of the editorial boards of six international journals. Dr. Rogers states:

[The video] shows shocking brutality. The birds are lifted by their wings, pulled by the neck, thrown, kicked and dragged. All of these are cruel practices inflicting pain and injury. The footage on injuries shows gross external, and most likely internal, wounds. Many of the wounded birds have flies crawling on them, which indicates that they have not been treated. Other footage shows birds with advanced eye infections that also have not been treated. The injured birds are without doubt in great pain.

Then comes extraordinary cruel killing by battering the birds with a rod. Some are left to die slowly. Those who remain conscious endure extreme suffering that is both inhumane and totally without any justification. It seems to me that the workers who inflict this pain have themselves become brutalized. This is clearly a facility in which animal welfare is not only ignored but also the workers go out of their way to be mercilessly cruel.

Dr. May, a practicing veterinarian with experience treating farmed animals, received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. She has experience treating livestock, and is an expert at recognizing the signs of pain and distress in farmed animals. Dr. May states:

It is very disheartening to encounter such blatant cruelty and neglect towards the turkeys at this facility. The practice of kicking these turkeys and grabbing them by their necks and wings demonstrates a complete disregard for their welfare and should not be tolerated. Any workers who engage in such behavior or supervisor who allows or condones such behavior should be promptly fired and should have charges of animal cruelty brought against them.

Dr. Duncan is a world-renowned expert in poultry science, having earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with Honours in Animal Husbandry from Edinburgh University and a doctorate at the Poultry Research Centre with a dissertation on frustration and conflict in domestic fowl. He is a professor of applied ethology in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science at the University of Guelph and also holds the oldest university chair in animal welfare in North America. Dr. Duncan writes:

Birds are fully sentient creatures and able to experience pain, fear and distress. Handling them in this manner will result in serious bruising, in broken bones and in dislocated joints all of which will result in severe pain. The birds will also be extremely frightened by being treated in this way.

The section on lame and injured birds shows birds with various types of lameness. Some birds are unable to bear weight on one or both legs, while others move with extreme difficulty. These conditions are known to be very painful. Lifting these birds by the legs will cause even worse pain. Many of the birds are so disabled that they should not be subjected to transportation but should have been euthanized before the lameness became so severe.

Experts