12 replies to this topic

[Shortpoet-GTD]

*Note of caution-video is brutal, not everyone should watch.

"In December, an undercover video from Mercy For Animals showed footage of animal abuse
at a Butterball turkey raising facility.
The turkeys were kicked, dragged and thrown   around the Butterball farm in North Carolina.
Two months later, five Butterball employees have been charged with felony and misdemeanor animal cruelty, according to a press release emailed to The Huffington Post."

http://www.huffingto...=Green#comments

[tigerlily78]

I am glad to see these people are being held accountable for their cruelty. Unfortunately, I think working in this industry creates the psychology for abuse.

If you went into the occupation with the belief that animals are living creatures to be treated with basic respect and kindness... then you probably wouldn't be able to tolerate processing animals in a factory setting for long, because even the industry mandated minimums are far from what most of us would consider humane treatement. It would seem only people with a pre-existing disregard for food animals would work in such conditions for long, and that dettachment and apathy towards the animals easily lends itself to abuse.... If you think of chickens the same way you'd think about soccer balls on the shelf at Walmart, then why wouldn't you kick them around for fun?  It's sad really, how needlessly inhumane humans can be to eachother and the other creatures on this planet.

[Sandra Piddock]

Even though they are bred for food, these animals are living things and deserve respect and kindness in their treatment. What these people fail to realise - and probably wouldn't care about, as they're employees - is that if the animals are well treated and happy, the meat will taste better.

This is not a new thing, though. Many years ago, my ex husband worked as an electrician in an abbattoir, and the things he saw every day put him off meat for a long time. In the finish, he had to change jobs, as he was dreading going into work every day.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Too many animals know the tune from Howlin Wolf- The Killing Floor.
"I should'a quit you, long time ago
I should'a quit you, baby, long time ago
I was foolin' with ya baby, I let ya put me on the killin' floor
Lord knows, I should'a been gone
Lord knows, I should'a been gone
And I wouldn't've been here, down on the killin' floor."

[steph84]

This is so sad and sickening. I am glad that they are being punished for their actions. I can see how over time they become desensitized to all animals for working in these kinds of conditions. I would hate to think that these people have pets of their own back home. It's just sad. I wish we could go back to the localization of our food system. I would rather buy from a farmer who cares and respects for the animals on his own farm than from a huge company that has employees who treat animals in this manner.

[mariaandrea]

This is why states like Iowa and Minnesota are passing laws against undercover farm videos. Basically, anti-whistleblower laws. More states want to pass these laws, making it a criminal act to lie on a job application to gain access to a farm to make undercover videos of abuses. I'll bet after this, North Carolina is looking seriously into it. When you have something to hide, you want the law on your side...

http://www.npr.org/2...activists-cover

[ACSAPA]

That video was so awful, I couldn't even watch the whole thing. I'm glad I don't buy Butterball turkeys. It's disgusting that the animals are treated that way.
Even though I eat meat, I don't think the animals have to suffer or live in a dirty cage, and I definitely don't think they deserve to be thrown around and kicked.

Is it wrong that I wanted to go berzerk and beat the stuffing out of those guys that were kicking the turkeys?
I know those thoughts aren't very ladylike but that's where my mind went.

[dissn_it]

Couldn't watch the video, I have seen way too many similar videos already. It is just terrible to see animals being treated so cruelly. I do think it is important for people to see them even though they are extremely difficult for some of us to watch. It is what got us buying from local farms and ranches. We know that the animals are well cared for and when the time comes, processed in much better way. We have also been eating more and more vegetarian meals.
It is too bad that laws are being passed to protect people that do this, it should really be the other way around.

[FlanneryCam]

I'm a vegetarian so I'm extra sensitive to animal abuse. I also don't understand how people who financially can eat family and sustainably farmer meats don't do it! I wonder if it is because we don't have enough of these videos making it into the public conciousness. And with anti-whistleblower laws these violent abuses against animals will continue.

I believe people should have the right to eat meat. I do. But I also believe the animals raised for their meat should be treated with dignity and with compassion.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

With another Thanksgiving upon us, has the abuse stopped?

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Abuse ads running again.
Source

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Two of the workers were convicted in February. Several have been charged of animal cruelty.
(Don't watch the video-horrid)
Article

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Update-
Is butterball really becoming "humane" for the 2014 holiday season, or is it just a ruse?
You decide.
Via Mother Jones-

http://www.motherjon...ksgiving-really