Birds Left to Drown in Electrified Water; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe

For Rapid Release:
January 26, 2022

Call:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382

Salisbury, Md. – Right after acquiring U.S. Division of Agriculture files revealing that a worker at the Perdue Foodstuff slaughterhouse in Salisbury remaining chickens to drown in electrified drinking water, PETA sent a letter today to Wicomico County State’s Legal professional Jamie L. Dykes contacting on her to critique the matter and, as proper, file felony costs from people dependable.

In accordance to the report, on September 21, 2021, a line that was carrying dwell chickens who were hanging upside down stopped, leaving the birds’ heads submerged in electrified h2o. An inspector pointed out that the worker nearest the birds basically sat there as they died.

Federal officers cited Perdue a whole of 11 times, at 4 websites, for mistreating birds concerning April and September 2021 by yourself. Live chickens were continuously observed in dumpsters complete of lifeless birds at the Salisbury slaughterhouse and at a slaughterhouse in the vicinity of Lewiston Woodville, North Carolina.

At a facility exterior Dillon, South Carolina, employees left a stay chicken in a vat with dead birds for a lot more than 48 several hours. In Rockingham, North Carolina, chickens ended up regularly scalded alive and a single fowl was impaled by a wire through the beak and trapped from a cage ground.

“If any one sat by as pet dogs drowned in electrified h2o, they would facial area several prices of cruelty to animals, and chickens go through the same way and are also secured by law,” states PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA is contacting for a felony investigation into the horrific destiny of these birds, who felt discomfort and concern each little bit as significantly as the animals who share our residences.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in portion, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For additional data, remember to go to PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Fb, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Dykes follows.

January 26, 2022

The Honorable Jamie L. Dykes

State’s Legal professional for Wicomico County

Expensive Ms. Dykes:

I’m producing to ask for that your place of work (and the community law-enforcement company, as you deem acceptable) look into and file relevant criminal expenses versus Perdue Foodstuff, LLC, and the employee responsible for letting chickens to drown in electrified water at its slaughterhouse situated at 521 Willow St. in Salisbury. The U.S. Division of Agriculture’s Foods Safety and Inspection Company (FSIS) documented the incident, which the agency just designed accessible to the general public. (See the to start with row in the attached table.)

In accordance to the report, on September 21, a line conveying chickens hanged upside down by their legs stopped, leaving are living birds’ heads submerged in a vat of electrified drinking water. An FSIS inspector pointed out that the employee nearest the animals “was sitting there and was not accomplishing just about anything to tackle the” predicament. At the federal official’s ask for, an additional Perdue Meals worker eliminated the birds. The FSIS inspector “saw none of them moving or breathing” and confirmed that all experienced died. The number of victims was redacted from the USDA report.

This conduct may perhaps violate Maryland Code, Prison Law, § 10-604. Remember to take note that FSIS’ motion does not preempt criminal legal responsibility less than point out regulation for slaughterhouses or their workers who perpetrate acts of cruelty to animals. For additional info on FSIS’ results, please speak to District Supervisor Todd M. Furey. Please permit me know if I can assist you. Thank you for your thought and for the essential do the job that you do.

Sincerely,

Daniel Paden

Vice President of Evidence Analysis

Cruelty Investigations Division