Animal abuse, local farm accused

Tyson Foods is facing claims of animal abuse. Mercy for Animals, an animal protection non-profit group hurled abuse accusations Thursday at a press conference in northern Delaware.

The group says one of it’s undercover investigators secretly recorded video at a Dagsboro farm.

The footage is reportedly from McGinnis Farms which is a Tyson-contracted farm. The animal protection group says they witnessed workers clubbing chickens to death, breaking their necks, and leaving sick or injured chickens suffering.

In response to these claims Tyson says quote: 

“We offered to meet with Mercy for Animals today to discuss its concerns, however, the group declined and chose to hold news conferences instead.

Animal well-being is a top priority for us. We do not tolerate improper animal treatment and take claims of animal abuse very seriously. We are investigating this matter.”

We have programs and policies in place to protect the health and well-being of all our animals. This includes the Tyson FarmCheck™ program that involves third-party auditors who check on the farm for such things as animal access to food and water, human-animal interaction and worker training.

We’re continually looking for ways to improve how we operate and this includes animal well-being. We’re constantly researching new ways to keep our chickens healthy and safe.

Our farmers work hard to raise healthy birds, however, sometimes chickens – just like people – get sick. At the time this video was shot this past spring, this farm had birds that were sick with a respiratory illness. As a result, what was shown in the video is not typical for this or any other farm. It was also not a food safety issue.”