Published: November 19, 2008 10:16 pm      

Video shows alleged turkey abuse

The largest animal rights organization in the world, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has released to authorities what it says is documented evidence alleging workers at the internationally known Aviagen Turkey farms in Monroe and Greenbrier counties maliciously abused and killed turkeys in violation of animal cruelty laws.

Aviagen officials Wednesday said one supervisor had been suspended pending an internal investigation and that “swift action” would be taken regarding PETA’s abuse claims.

Daphna Nachminovitch, vice president of PETA’s animal cruelty investigation department, told The Register-Herald the two-month undercover operation was conducted by one person who was hired by Aviagen.

The undercover operative worked on a vaccination crew at turkey farms in Greenbrier and Monroe counties from Sept. 4 through Nov. 14 and videotaped the abuses. The video is now being displayed on PETA’s Web site.

She described the abuses of turkeys by employees as “extremely pervasive.” Nachminovitch released copies of an 11-page complaint documenting about 71 incidents of animal abuse to authorities in Greenbrier and Monroe counties on Tuesday.

Nachminovitch also said the undercover operative witnessed Aviagen employees smoking marijuana and snorting pills while on the job. On Tuesday, Nachminovitch showed the video to Aviagen officials in Greenbrier County, she said.

“We believe there could be both violations of anti-cruelty statutes combined with potential drug violations as well,” Nachminovitch said.

Included in the PETA complaint that was obtained by The Register-Herald are allegations of:

- Employees intentionally torturing, mutilating and maliciously killing and mistreating turkeys, often with supervisors’ authorization.

- Stomping on the heads of live turkeys until they died.

- Punching, kicking and striking turkeys “as if they were boxing.”

- Admitting to killing “birds with pipes or two-by-fours” of lumber.

- Forcing “foreign objects into turkeys’ orifices and attempting to drown turkeys.”

The last alleged incident was highlighted in the PETA undercover video. The video shows what appears to be an Aviagen employee talking about “shoving a broom stick about two feet down a tom’s throat, picking up the impaled bird and then throwing the tom off the stick.”

The video also has audio of a purported supervisor saying to the undercover operative: “They don’t do it all the time, you know what I’m saying, but every once in awhile, everybody gets agitated and has to kill a bird.”

The copy of the complaint had the names of the individuals redacted and was signed by Dan Paden, a PETA research associate with its cruelty investigation department.

“PETA asks that your offices immediately investigate the conduct of Aviagen and the employees described above and file suitable charges against all appropriate parties,” Paden wrote.

-----

Late Wednesday, Sandi Hofmann, marketing and administration director for Aviagen Turkeys, released this statement:

“Aviagen Turkeys has well defined policies and procedures regarding poultry welfare, and we are committed to meeting or exceeding all industry standards, including the animal welfare guidelines of the National Turkey Federation. We provide regular training to our employees on our animal welfare practices and policies. This training includes an explanation of disciplinary actions should these policies be contravened,” the statement read.

“On Nov. 18, representatives of Aviagen Turkeys were shown a video that appears to show inappropriate actions and violations of our animal welfare policies. We condemn any abuse of the animals in our care and will take swift action to address these issues. We will investigate the specific actions and employees involved, and they will be dealt with according to company policy, up to and including termination. The supervisor involved has been suspended pending the outcome of this investigation. We will also add to these policies, as well as our procedures, training and monitoring as appropriate to help ensure these acts do not occur in the future.”

-----

Greenbrier County Prosecutor Kevin Hanson was unable to meet with PETA officials Tuesday, but said the issue would be investigated. Monroe County Prosecutor Justin St. Clair was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

“I’m sure we will look into it. I really don’t have any knowledge about the issue because I was out of the office and unable to meet with them, but they spoke with one of my assistant prosecutors,” Hanson said Wednesday. “I would be glad to meet with them after Thanksgiving.”

In West Virginia, felony animal cruelty can be punished by one to three years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines.

Nachminovitch said PETA learned about the alleged abuses from a “whistleblower employee” who no longer works for the company.

Sherrie Rosenblatt of the National Turkey Federation in Washington questioned the timing of PETA’s sting.

“I think it’s interesting that PETA, allegedly this vegetarian group, would go into a place and actually see something that is not common, and not say anything about it until about a week before Thanksgiving,” Rosenblatt told Associated Press Television Network on Wednesday. “To me that is not making sure there is ethical treatment of animals, but it’s more about public relations propaganda.

But PETA spokesman Bruce Friedrich in Washington said the timing was only a coincidence.

“We did actually complain about it more than a month ago and nothing changed,” he said. “The company president responded to our letter and said they would take appropriate action, but the gratuitous abuse continued.”

In 2004, PETA carried out a similar undercover video sting in West Virginia against Texas-based Pilgrim’s Pride at the company’s Moorefield plant.

The company fired 11 employees and provided animal cruelty training throughout its North American operations after that, but a Hardy County grand jury in 2005 refused to indict any of the workers involved.

Aviagen Turkeys is the world’s leader in poultry breeding, according to its Web site, www.aviagen. com. It operates at least 22 facilities, with about 165 employees in Greenbrier County. Aviagen is also known worldwide for breeding chickens.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

— E-mail: cgiggenbach@register-herald.com