More than Two Million Birds Arrive at the Slaughterhouse Dead
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Canadians for Ethical Treatment of Food Animals (CETFA)
December 2010

The report reveals the shocking way birds are raised, handled, transported and slaughtered in Canada. Between 2007-2009, 44 undercover investigations at poultry farms, slaughterhouses and on transport trucks in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec found violations of federal humane transport and slaughter regulations too numerous to count.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency records indicate that more than 2 million birds arrive at the slaughterhouse dead every year. Our most recent report entitled Broken Wings: The Breakdown of Animal Protection in the Transportation and Slaughter of Meat Poultry in Canada, documents why.

The report reveals the shocking way birds are raised, handled, transported and slaughtered in Canada. Between 2007-2009, 44 undercover investigations at poultry farms, slaughterhouses and on transport trucks in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec found violations of federal humane transport and slaughter regulations too numerous to count.

Birds were found exposed to extreme cold weather, crammed into cages without the ability to stand or move comfortably, roughly handled, punched and shoved. Birds that were critically injured and should be immediately euthanized according to law, were kept in inaccessible crates; left to suffer and die a slow, agonizing death. Millions of birds were found to have been scalded to death or drowned in the scald baths during slaughter.

The following are just a few examples:

  • Birds left fully exposed to extremely cold temperatures (-40°C and -50°C) at Granny’s Poultry Cooperative in Blumenort, Manitoba during two separate investigations. At temperatures of -9.4°C the birds are susceptible to freezing and frostbite, causing painful tissue damage. Canada’s transport regulations dictate that no birds or animals shall be transported without adequate protection from the weather.
  • Birds crammed into tiny crates preventing them from being able to stand or move comfortably. Live birds were forced to stand on top of dead birds. Others were pressed against the sides of the crates unable to seek shelter from the elements, some suffocated. Canada’s transport regulations stipulate that each animal must be able to stand in its natural position without coming into contact with a deck or roof.
  • Untrained chicken catchers chasing and aggressively grabbing and punching birds that escape. Canada’s transport regulations prohibit a person from beating an animal and loading it in a way likely to cause injury or undue suffering.
  • Live turkeys, which can weigh up to 60 lbs, were suspended by their feet. Injures included leg and pelvis fractures, dislocated hips, detached femurs and hemorrhaging.
  • The electrified stun baths were not at a high enough voltage to actually render the birds insensible. So many birds entered the scald bath still alive that they defecated in the water spreading Salmonella bacteria. 75% of baths tested contained Salmonella bacteria and government records indicated that millions of birds died by being scalded to death or drowned in the scald tanks.
  • Canada's humane slaughter regulations prohibit a person from handling a bird or animal in a way likely to cause injury or undue suffering. The regulations also state that no equipment shall be used which causes injury or undue suffering.
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