Industry Response

Pilgrim's Pride has fired 11 employees who, according to the company, were responsible for the abuse, and KFC has placed a full-time inspector in this plant and claimed that it will no longer buy from this facility until improvements are finalized. Pilgrim's Pride is also placing cameras in this facility and has directed that all 25 of its slaughterhouse managers be instructed in animal welfare and handling. These managers have also been charged with ensuring that all Pilgrim's Pride employees be trained in animal welfare.

Although clearly better than not doing these things, this response is far from sufficient. Poorly paid workers, incredibly fast slaughter speeds, and apathetic managers are a prescription for the sort of abuse that we discovered. These are problems that demand real solutions, not half measures and finely crafted sound bites. Both companies must implement a new technology called "controlled-atmosphere killing," which prevents workers from having to handle live birds in the slaughterhouse, in order to ensure that this sort of cruelty will never occur again, at this plant or at any other. It is one thing to punish abuse when it is found, but it is much more important to prevent abuse in the first place, which both KFC and Pilgrim's Pride have failed to do.

Click here to read more about controlled-atmosphere killing.

Click here to read PETA’s letter to KFC.