Workers at Culver Duck Farms buried birds alive and allowed female ducks to be “gang raped,” according to a whistleblower from the company and claims from the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
“This whistleblower paints a picture of unabated suffering at this duck farm, with birds smothered to death and ground up alive,” said PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “As PETA urges Culver Duck Farms’ customers to reexamine their ties to this company, we remind the public that the only humane meal is a vegan one.”
Female ducks at the Middlebury, Indiana farm were “excessively mounted,” leaving the birds with “bloody, swollen and scabby areas on their necks and other areas of the body,” the whistleblower wrote in a PETA affidavit.
The affidavit also included allegations of ducks being buried alive due to faulty feed tubes and claims that birds hanging on the line were still conscious and moving while workers cut their throats.
Culver Duck Farms is not the only poultry company under PETA scrutiny. Earlier this year, the animal rights group pushed for criminal charges against Agri Star Meat & Poultry, saying that the poultry company smothered hundreds of chickens to death at the company’s plant in Postville, Iowa.
PETA urges retail to drop Culver products
On February 16, 2022, PETA wrote letters to Albertson’s and Southeastern Grocers, urging the two grocery companies to reconsider carry Culver Duck Farm products.
“I’m writing to share a disturbing whistleblower report from Culver Duck Farms Inc., whose ‘humane’ duck meat it boasts that your company sells,” the letter said. “We hope that you’ll take swift and decisive action in light of this disturbing report.”
In 2016, following a PETA undercover investigation that claimed birds at Culver Duck Farmers were bludgeoned, decapitated and kept in ammonia-ridden sheds, the company’s products were removed from Harris Teeter.
Culver Duck Farms responds to the allegations
In a letter to clients, Sean Smith, general manager for Culver Duck Farms, called the claims “disturbing,” but in “no way representative of our daily practices.”
“As you know, in early 2016 a transition in ownership occurred and new leadership was put into place. Since then, we have made significant investments in our facilities and major changes in our processes to ensure the health and safety of our ducks. I am proud to share with you the advancements Culver Duck has made in animal care in recent years,” he wrote, noting that these changes included annual auditing and inspections of all farms, hiring a full-time animal welfare specialist and the addition of a “whistleblower” functionality to the intercompany portal.
“We want you to know we are committed to our ducks, their outstanding care, and are willing to hold ourselves to the highest standards. The scrutiny of external audits and verification demonstrates how serious we are about this ongoing commitment,” the letter concluded.
