11 Plainville Farms workers charged with animal cruelty

Eleven employees were charged with the mistreatment of turkeys raised for Plainville Farms following a preliminary investigation by Pennsylvania State Police.

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(Hain Celestial)
(Hain Celestial)

Eleven employees were charged with the mistreatment of turkeys raised for Plainville Farms following a preliminary investigation by Pennsylvania State Police.

“This was a lengthy, detailed investigation that involved reviewing a lot of evidence at multiple locations,” Cpl. Michael Spada, a state police animal cruelty officer, told the Associated Press.

The workers were charged with a total of six felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, 76 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and 57 related summary offenses.

The animal cruelty claims were first raised by a video circulated by animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in August 2021. The video depicted scenes of turkeys being thrown, kicked and picked up by their necks. 

In a press release, PETA called out Plainville Farms and other entities with which it is affiliated, as Plainville Farms Turkey is certified by the Global Animal Partnership, and the company claims its birds are raised in a manner that Plainville describes as “stress-free,” “comfortable” and “free from harm.”

Following the video, Global Animal Partnership (GAP) suspended Plainville Farms from its programs and Whole Foods Market temporarily halted the sales of Plainville products. PETA also filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

“For 100 years, Plainville Farms has been committed to setting the gold standard in animal welfare. At all times, Plainville management fully cooperated in this investigation and supported the authorities during this process.  Plainville has zero tolerance for anything like the alleged actions of these former employees,” Matt Goodson, CEO, Plainville Farms, said in an e-mailed statement to WATTPoultry.com.

“We are grateful to the State of Pennsylvania and its law enforcement for joining us in taking action and holding the involved individuals accountable for their actions.”

The turkey producer implemented several actions in response to the allegations, including: 

  1. Started an aggressive internal investigation including outside animal welfare experts
  2. Immediately terminated all employees involved
  3. Replaced catching employees with a third-party vendor providing catching services 
  4. Reviewed and raised already stringent animal welfare standards, education and information processes
  5. Utilizing stationary and body cameras during the catching process 
  6. Have a third-party animal welfare specialist monitor the video footage and join catching crews in the field.  

Plainville Farms, according to the WATTPoultry.com Top Companies Database, slaughtered 90 million pounds of live turkeys in 2021, a 36.17% decrease from the previous year. It presently ranks as the United States’ 17th largest turkey producer.

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