“Consumers want to be sure that all animals being raised for food are treated with respect and are properly cared for during their lives. The people and companies involved in raising chickens share the public’s concern,” the National Chicken Council said yesterday in a press release in response to a New York Times article by Nikolas Kristoff about welfare on broiler farms and a video by Compassion in World Farming, an animal rights activist group.
“The conditions described in the New York Times article, and shown in the accompanying video, are not an accurate representation of the health and welfare of today’s broiler chickens. Nor are they indicative of the many Perdue farms that I have personally visited,” said Tom Super, NCC’s vice president of communications.
“The U.S. national broiler flock is incredibly healthy – mortality and condemnation rates for broilers, the most sensitive indicators of the health and well-being of any flock, are at historic lows. Improved nutrition, breeding, genetics, veterinary attention and technology, which include optimum growing conditions within climate-controlled barns, allow chickens to naturally reach market weight quickly– all without the use of hormones or steroids,” Super said.
“All of the issues raised in this article and video are cases of mismanagement that could have been easily and humanely addressed to prevent bird suffering. Unfortunately, both Mr. Kristoff and representatives of Compassion in World Farming refused for weeks to divulge the name and location of this farm so that Perdue could investigate the allegations of mistreatment or poor conditions, something we all take very seriously,” Super continued.
“Farmers and processors have an ethical obligation to treat animals humanely, and from a pure business standpoint, it does not benefit a farmer or a company to harm birds in any way. The birds are their livelihoods, and chicken producers aim to do everything possible to keep them healthy, ” NCC said.
In a statement from Perdue Farms, the company said it “has thoroughly reviewed the video posted by an animal advocacy group, and we can assure you that the conditions shown in this farmer’s poultry house do not reflect Perdue’s standards for how our chickens are raised. It is clear from the video that he is not following our guidelines and has been negligent in the care of his flock. We sent a team of poultry welfare experts to visit his farm and assess the condition of his current flock, and will take whatever steps are need to assure their wellbeing. In addition, we have asked a third-party group of poultry welfare experts to review the video and give us their unbiased assessment.”
“The independent farmers that we entrust to raise our chickens are contractually and ethically obligated to notify their Perdue flock advisor immediately if any situation exists which would have an adverse effect on the health or well-being of the flock. We are always available to respond with additional resources or expertise should a farmer need help in raising our birds. We also provide an anonymous, toll-free hotline, operated by an independent third-party, to provide a secure method to report any issues if a grower feels his or her concerns are not being addressed locally. Contrary to Compassion in World Farming’s allegations, multiple layers of oversight, including audits by the USDA, independent third-party auditors, and our own internal audits ensure that our chickens are raised appropriately,” Perdue Farms said.
The Center for Food Integrity (CFI) Animal Care Review Panel has examined the video released this week by Compassion in World Farming. Panels include a veterinarian, an animal scientist, and an ethicist to assure various perspectives are represented.
The expert panel who reviewed the video this week from a North Carolina broiler farm was comprised of Dr. Patricia Hester, Purdue University; Dr. S.F. Bilgili, Auburn University; and Dr. Ruth Newberry, Washington State University and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.
“In a large flock, there will be some birds with problems depicted in this video,” said Newberry. “Due to editing of the film, it is impossible to determine if the same birds are shown multiple times or if there are more widespread problems.” “The incident of these conditions should be documented by the farmer and the reasons should be investigated. Birds with incurable conditions should be detected at an early stage and euthanized immediately. It’s the humane thing to do.”
“The National Chicken Council’s welfare guidelines explicitly state that chickens with stunted growth and obvious gait defects that limit an individual bird’s ability to move about or access feed and water for normal growth and development are humanely euthanized,” the panel pointed out in its report.
“The farmer needs to implement a twice-daily bird health monitoring program that includes culling and euthanasia of any age chicken that is suffering and in distress,” said Hester. “It is obvious from the video that the farmer did not implement a rigorous culling program.”
To read the expert panel’s full report, click here.
