Investigation Impact: Tyson Ends Cruel Practice!
VICTORY: After viewing our video, Tyson issued a statement announcing that it will immediately stop this cruel practice of stabbing a dull plastic “bone” through the nostrils of young male breeder birds!
This is an important step in the right direction — and we are encouraging other companies to follow this lead — though much more still needs to be done:
What is “Boning”? COK’s video prompts Tyson to end this barbaric practice
After viewing COK’s investigative video, Tyson announced that it is immediately ending the painful and barbaric practice of stabbing a dull plastic rod, called a “bone,” into the sensitive nostrils of young male breeder birds before they are transferred to a breeder house with females.
During the “boning” process, these male birds are rounded up, grabbed one by one by their wings or head, and workers forcefully insert the bone. As the chickens struggle desperately to escape during this painful and frightening process, workers respond by handling the birds with increasing aggression and violence.
“They going to kick, they more they kick, you squeeze on that head.”
-Tyson supervisor
In a statement regarding COK’s footage, Dr. Ian Duncan, an internationally renowned poultry welfare expert, said boning “causes severe pain” for the birds, and that the rods can become entangled in netting, as COK’s investigator documented while freeing a struggling chicken from a net (seen below). Dr. Duncan is Professor Emeritus and Emeritus Chair in Animal Welfare at the University of Guelph.
Why is this practice done? The wide plastic “bones” physically block the birds from accessing certain food dispensers, severely restricting the birds’ food intake.
Birds raised for meat are genetically manipulated to grow so obese, so quickly that they commonly suffer from various health ailments, including leg deformities and heart attacks, that can be fatal. In order to keep breeder birds alive for up to two years, their feed is severely restricted to prevent the birds from becoming overweight, even though this is specifically what they are selectively bred to do. As a result, broiler breeders spend their lives in perpetual starvation.
Based in Springdale, Arkansas, Tyson Foods is the nation’s largest chicken producer, supplying major food service companies including McDonald’s, Burger King, Walmart, KFC, Wendy’s, Chick-Fil-A and others.
Among the brands owned by Tyson are Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, and Sara Lee.
Despite Tyson’s public “Commitment to Animal Well-Being,” including the “internationally-recognized Five Freedoms,” COK’s video documents a hauntingly different story, including never-before-seen footage of what is known as “boning” inside a broiler breeder factory farm.
This is not the first time Tyson Foods has been exposed for egregious animal abuse, demonstrating that torture is a standard practice for this industry titan.
