The Maple Leaf Foods company is facing allegations of animal mistreatment at one of its chicken hatcheries. An employee of the animal rights group Mercy for Animals Canada got a job working at the plant in Hanover, Ontario and surreptitiously shot footage which was then shared with the public broadcaster, CBC.
Inhumane deaths alleged
It showed dead chicks coming out of a dishwasher, likely as a result of getting their feet caught in baskets that go into the high-temperature washer. The footage also shows an employee euthanizing sick and injured chicks by dumping several large baskets full into a mechanical macerator and pushing them into the grinder.
While it is legal to kill chicks in a macerator, guidelines set by government, industry and researchers explicitly state : “Chicks must be delivered to the macerator in a way that prevents a backlog of chicks at the point of entry … without causing injury or avoidable distress.”
Company suspends worker
Maple Leaf Foods has a public animal welfare policy that states the company takes a zero-tolerance stance on animal cruelty. In this case, it has suspended one employee and has said it will review the proper care and handling of chicks with employees.
The province of Ontario has a law to prevent cruelty to animals and the case is being investigated by the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
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