The Petition

Undercover footage from a Wayne-Sanderson Farms slaughterhouse in Dobson, North Carolina, shows what a 175-birds-per-minute kill line actually looks like: birds hung by one leg, some twisted with their chests and heads above the shackle line, and workers whose bonuses were tied to output cutting corners to keep the line full. Slowed-down footage even appears to show the line running faster than the 175 birds per minute the plant is already permitted.

USDA is now deciding whether to make this speed permanent nationwide, expanding it from a waiver a small number of plants must apply for into the standard every poultry slaughterhouse in the country can use. The agency's own public comment period on this rule closed with the vast majority of commenters opposed.

We're asking the USDA to listen to that opposition and to the evidence. We call on the USDA to:

• Reject the proposal to make 175 birds per minute poultry slaughter line speeds a permanent, nationwide standard
• Enforce existing humane handling and worker safety laws at every poultry plant, not just those under a speed waiver
• Strengthen, not reduce, on-site inspection at high-speed plants

Add your name to protect these innocent birds