Over 5,000 chickens from Foster Farms, trapped in cramped cages piled on top of each other, were bound for the slaughterhouse on a semi-truck when the vehicle overturned as the driver attempted an illegal U-turn. Many birds were killed and countless others were injured in the accident, which occurred June 25 in Clark County, Washington.
Animal rights groups Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) and The Save Movement tried to rescue the chickens, but Foster Farms employees were there to collect the ones who hadn’t died, sending them off on another transport truck to be killed.
Sadly, animals in transport are often victims of accidents. Earlier in June, a Perdue transport accident left chickens dead and injured on the side of the road in Delaware. In Texas, this past May, a transport truck of cows, and in Illinois, this past February, a transport of pigs, were both overturned, resulting in injured and frightened animals.
Foster Farms is no stranger to animal cruelty. In 2015, a Mercy For Animals investigation revealed horrific abuse at its Fresno processing plant. It also revealed the fraud behind the American Humane Association (AHA) certification of Foster Farms chickens as humane.
Trademarking “American Humane Certified” and placing the label on products that are unregulated, from farms that practice industry standards, the AHA has contributed to the false marketing and cruelty perpetuated by the farming industry. Liberally interpreting the word “humane,” with virtually no oversight from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the AHA and farm industry deceive consumers into believing the meat they’re buying is cruelty free. But industry standard practices include an abominable litany of torture such as: de-beaking, de-toeing, and hanging chickens upside down before slaughter, breaking their bones and causing unbearable pain.
In addition to the outright abuse, the chickens at Foster Farms are forced to live in filth and horrible conditions. Not surprisingly, in 2013 Foster Farms chicken caused a salmonella outbreak in which over 600 people fell ill and 241 were hospitalized.
The American Humane website is full of hypocrisy. Citing a purported mission of “ensuring the safety, welfare and well-being of animals,” there is a laughable section devoted to “Recipes” suggesting ways to cook animals.
The clearest way to eat humanely is to not eat animals. As consumers demand less meat, the industry intensifies its fight against this. But not eating meat is the most effective way for us to avoid the industry deception and save lives in the process.
FOSTER FARMS, THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER WAY TO TRANSPORT THESE ANIMALS! FINE YOUR DRIVERS WHO DO ILLEGAL THINGS!
Acabemos de una vez, paremos este holocausto. Todos somos animales. Ellos merecen también respeto. Empatía mas allá de la especie. No participar es la clave de la evolución hacia la liberación animal.
Until man finds PEACE with himself, he will never find PEACE with the animals…
Sadly, the ones that died in the accident were the lucky ones. I hope at least was rescued.
Thank you Lady Freethinker!
MANS inhumanity to———- ah yes EVERYTHING
Cruelty needs to be stopped and animals looked after.
Why can’t every single human respect & love & not ever eat or harm any animal. So many people are soulless heartless greedy & cruel bastards, if only they could all be banished to their own planet & all us kind animal loving vegans could all live together on a perfect cruel free planet.
I hope this makes people think more about chickens. They shouldn’t have been in traffic in the first place. They feel pain, grief, love, and joy, just as humans do. But they’re transported to the slaughterhouse, where they’re shackled upside-down their throats are slit, and many are scalded alive. There’s nothing anyone can do to bring back the birds who died in the crash, but we can all help other chickens just by choosing vegan foods.
Everything about the animal-food industry is cruel, unconscionable, depravedly indifferent — they suffer from the day they’re born — I say this :
GO VEGAN! ———— GO VEGAN!
got no words to describe the cruelty of humans.every thing finish at the limitless cruelity to describe in words.
Stop!
Doesn’t sound like a professional driver if he is doing illegal turns with a live shipment .
Sounds like general public should boycott this company until they clean up their act.
Even if people would just cut down on the volume of meat, poultry, and fish ,we would see a great reduction in animal slaughter . Just eating meat on the weekends would be a good start.
STOP BARBARISM AGAINST ALL LIVING CREATURES!
FOR ALL OF THESE INSANE, RUTHLESS AND INHUMANE BREED SOMEONE FORGOT MAIN THINGS IN HUMANES EDUCATION. WHO IS IT?
ALL THAT BARBARIC MUD AND RESPONSIBLE NONPERSONS ARE SENSELESS FOR ALL OTHER TERRESTRIALS – SUSPEND THEM OF ALL HUMAN ACHIEVEMENTS!
THE INHUMANE and BARBARIC ASSHOLE – STYLE HAS TO STOP!
STOP THE ASSHOLE-STYLE, AND BAN INHUMANITY – PERSONS RESPONSIBLE – AND REMEMBER: THE FISH STINKS FROM THE HEAD, IS IT YOURS?!
THIS KIND OF BARBARISM AGAINST LIVING CREATURES IS LESS THAN INHUMANE AND MUST HAVE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE CRIMINAL RABBLE, PERSONS RESPONSIBLE!
THE RESPONSIBLE LAWMAKERS FROM THE LAST DECADES WILL CATCH A PLACE IN HISTORY FOR THE WORST INSANE DESTROYERS ON OUR PLANET EVER!
Stop & pursue this criminal rabble and its deformity – instantly!
Superbly put
Could not have expressed it better. Thank you.
Good.! I just hope that none of the Chickens were harmed .
How stupid, off course some died on the spot and the live ones were sent to slaughter. Take off your blindfold
the shithole ware they came from should be shut down for ever. why have people got to horrible to then just to make money. the best pace for people who do this is go to hell and suffer.
Infelizmente a humanidade n evoluira tanto assim ao ponto d n consumir mais cadaver d animais
So its an issue because it overturned in plain site but not that there being killed by the fucking millions?
All these idiot people who are shooting elephants and other wild animals for sport should try taking on that animal without the help of his or her guns. Hey it should be fair right, if the elephant can’t have guns then neither should the hunter. I’d like to see who wins that round!
Horrible . It’s all so scary how we make them live in their own feces overcrowded indoors then in cage stuffed in there as the truck moves jumps on bumpy roads and they are there expose experiencing that scary loud unsettling ride
Somebody help!! Rules, Regulations? Now!! For the chicken industry.
Appalling that America allows animals to be transported in this way. Says a lot about how they view animal welfare.
This is dreadful! These poor creatures are precious lives and should not be subject to this appauling treatment.
Make it law to put lives before profit, no excuses!
Foster Farms needs to be closed down just like all other horror factories across this country. Even if we have to do it one horror factory at a time.
Thank you for publishing this article. While I am horrified for these chickens (and other animals), I am grateful to learn of the corruption of the so-called American Humane Association. The American Humane SOCIETY is one of my favorite animal charities. I support them with a quarterly donation. Once again I am seeing the neglect of the US Department of Abdication (aka Agriculture). God bless the animals.
Unfortunately many people only see lost money, not lives
I remember hearing of an accident years ago in Queensland Australia where a truck carrying cows to the slaughter house overturned and many cows were killed or injured. Those that weren’t roamed around on the highwat tl they were rounded up. It was awful. The bloody driver was driving to fast and was unable to safely negotiate a curve in the road. ???
Foster Farms don’t care about the dead and badly injured birds and neither do other companies that do these horrific things. As long as they don’t lose too much money.
Just another one of the many reasons I became a vegan. I don’t want to be a part of any type of animal neglect or abuse. These poor animals have no voice. God bless each and every one of them.
Shame shame shame
This is always horrific for the innocent animals that are transported in unsafe trucks. I remember it happened to a horse transporter and it really saddened an angered me.
What a disgusting way to lead these poor chickens to slaughter this is outrageous!
Shows how little thought that driver had for the birds, he thought of them like cans of coca cola. Heavier sentences are being handed out here in the UK to dangerous drivers who killed their passenger/s. Same should happen when the passengers are animals. Disregard for and torture of animals must stop. When will we see sense.
Great comment Janice thanks for sharing.