MFA's undercover investigation into a Butterball turkey factory farm has led to felony and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges against five Butterball employees by state authorities. Additionally, Dr. Sarah Jean Mason, the director of Animal Health Programs with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, has pled guilty to obstruction of justice charges after admitting to leaking confidential information to Butterball and potentially compromising the criminal cruelty investigation by state law enforcement officials.
The undercover investigation shows that Butterball allowed a culture of cruelty and abuse to fester at its company owned factory farms - graphically illustrating that the secret ingredient in Butterball turkey is criminal animal abuse.
MFA's shocking undercover footage at Butterball reveals:
- Workers violently kicking and stomping on birds, dragging them by their fragile wings and necks, and maliciously throwing turkeys onto the ground or into transport trucks in full view of company management;
- Employees bashing in the heads of live birds with metal bars, leaving many to slowly suffer and die from their injuries;
- Turkeys covered in flies, living in their own waste, unable to access food or water and suffering from severe feather loss and necrotic (dead) muscles and skin;
- Birds suffering from serious untreated illnesses and injuries, including open sores, infections, rotting eyes, and broken bones; and
- Severely injured turkeys, unable to stand up or walk, left to die without any veterinary care, because treating sick or injured birds was too costly and time consuming, as the farm manager explained to MFA's investigator.
Watch the undercover investigation into Butterball here:
While MFA works to expose and hold animal abusers accountable, consumers can help prevent the needless suffering of turkeys and other animals by adopting a compassionate vegan diet.
