Foster Farms Exposed: A Nightmare for Baby Birds

• Video
• Photos
• Industry Facts
• Act Now
• Donate
• Media

Video uncovers abuse to day-old turkeys at a hatchery owned by Foster Farms, the company slated to provide the 2015 Presidential Turkey – ACT NOW!

	June 22: Watch CNN Money’s coverage of our investigation, “Warning: you may never eat turkey again after watching this“
	June 22: Read LA Time’s coverage of our investigation, “Undercover video sheds light on turkey slaughter“

In early 2015, a Compassion Over Killing investigator documented shocking horrors forced upon baby birds—from painful mutilations to being ground up alive—inside a Foster Farms turkey hatchery in Fresno, California.

While Foster Farms may publicly pride itself for its so-called “humane” treatment of birds, our video exposes the cruel and inhumane reality happening behind closed doors. This hidden camera footage offers consumers a glimpse of the miseries that newly-hatched turkeys endure on their first—and sometimes only—day of life.

Our investigation inside Foster Farms reveals:

• Extreme processing speeds that result in these fragile birds being thrown, tossed, and jostled around on machines
• Painful mutilations: these baby animals have parts of their toes and beaks burned off without any painkillers. A manager callously joked that these painful practices are  “nose jobs” and “manicures”
• Sick, injured, or weak birds are set aside and either dumped into a machine to be ground up alive or gassed to death in plastic bags

• “A worker noted that sometimes people gas the birds incorrectly, which renders the birds temporarily unconscious rather than ‘euthanizing’ them. According to her, another worker discovered chirping birds today when she went to the freezer to discard a cull bag. She warned not to let this occur because if discovered by an inspector the entire facility could get in trouble.”
• “The birds inside the bag appeared to be squirming, gasping, and blinking minutes after the knot had been tied. A manager said that as long as they were not chirping they should be put in the freezer.”
• “When I returned to check on a couple bags of chicks that had not been properly euthanized 30 minutes later, I noted both bags of culls were still showing signs of life (gasping, moving, blinking).”

Almost 4.5 million baby birds are born into a life of hell at this Foster Farms facility each year. For those who survive this hatchery nightmare, their misery is just beginning. These curious and playful birds will be packed up and shipped out to factory farm where they’ll suffer for the next several months crammed inside dark, feces-filled warehouses before they will be sent off to slaughter.

The Truth About Foster Farms “Humane” Claims

Foster Farms knows that consumers are increasingly concerned about animal welfare and has therefore invested in an extensive campaign to convince consumers that they treat their animals well. Foster Farms is in the process of certifying its turkey production practices as “humane” through the so-called “American Humane Association” (AHA).

Foster Farms chicken already bears the AHA’s seal of approval, but a recent undercover investigation revealing the horrors endured by Foster Farms’ chickens blew the lid off this humane claim scam. Likewise, the reality for Foster Farms turkeys is far from “humane.”

Foster Farms is Slated to Raise the 2015 Presidential Turkey

Our undercover video reveals that Foster Farm turkeys are subjected to harsh processing, painful mutilations, and often gruesome deaths, on their first day of life. Despite all this, Foster Farms has been selected to present the “2015 National Thanksgiving Turkey” to President Barack Obama for “pardoning.”

Join us in urging President Obama to go beyond the symbolic gesture of “pardoning” a turkey who has committed no crime, and instead show compassion for all animals by choosing a meat-free holiday meal.

Sign this petition now from our undercover investigator!