NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A year after Gov. Bill Haslam vetoed a bill that would have discouraged undercover citizen investigation of animal abuse, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit Mercy for Animals says it has secretly documented abuse at a Chattanooga chicken processing plant.
The group released a video online Wednesday that it says was taken at a Koch (KUK') Foods slaughterhouse. The video show chickens that survive the slaughter process and then are scalded alive.
Mercy for Animals Director of Investigations Matt Rice says the practices aren’t illegal because chickens are not covered by federal animal slaughter rules. However, the group is calling on chicken processors and the restaurants and other retail businesses that buy from them to adopt more humane slaughter practices.
A call to company headquarters seeking comment hasn’t been returned.
You can view the Mercy For Animals Youtube video here. (Warning: the video is extremely graphic.)