Baiada takes action in response to PETA video

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has circulated a video showing mistreatment of chickens at Baiada Poultry facilities.

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Yurii Bukhanovskyi, Bigstock
Yurii Bukhanovskyi, Bigstock

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has circulated a video showing mistreatment of chickens at Baiada Poultry facilities.

The Australian poultry producer, in response to the video, said the footage shown “is not the type of behavior that we condone at any of our sites.”

The video includes footage from a processing plant where chickens are punched and have their heads struck against metal railings, and a breeder farm where worker unsuccessfully euthanizes a rooster by conducting cervical dislocation.

In a statement issued to 10 Daily, Baiada Poultry Managing Director Simon Camilleri said: The footage of birds being punched, whacked and roughly handled is totally unacceptable. I have immediately instructed there be a full investigation of this animal cruelty. … We have zero tolerance for animal cruelty failures.”

Camilleri said he will not hesitate to bring in “relevant government authorities,” and he has already spoken to law enforcement officers. He added the company will do its “utmost to find those responsible.”

Regarding the footage of the cervical dislocation process, Camilleri said it is a technique that scientists with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) have assured Baiada “is the most humane way to end the life of a bird.”

However, Camilleri said the cervical dislocation procedure was not carried out correctly, and while he did not believe the worker intended to be cruel, it did reveal that the training for the process was not as effective as it should have been. The company is in the process of retraining workers on the correct procedure for euthanizing birds.

Baiada Poultry, according to the Poultry International Top Companies rankings, is the largest poultry company in Australia and in Oceania. It slaughters 208 million broilers annually. The company is also involved in turkey and table egg production.

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