I'm not a fan of PETA or their antics. I've never really paid much attention to their claims before, and I think they take things way too far.
But after reading about the abuses committed by employees at the Pilgrim's Pride poultry processing plant (a major supplier to KFC), I felt sick. Rather than assume the allegations were true, I felt that the responsible thing to do was see for myself if it was really that bad. So I watched the video.
I lasted all of about 15 seconds.
In that time, I saw enough that I will NEVER buy a Pilgrim's Pride chicken from a grocery store again. And if no one is held accountable for the disgusting acts being performed by their supplier's employees, I'll put KFC on my list of "never agains" as well.
I'm probably just naive to assume that others aren't mistreating animals meant for slaughter. I suppose if I ever found out that such behavior is common, I'd become a vegetarian. I just find it extremely disturbing that people can derive pleasure in causing horrible pain to a defenseless animal.
I don't believe there is anything wrong with eating meat--other animals are carnivorous. Its part of nature. But that doesn't mean its okay to torture the animals first.
Those people should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Posted by geekchik at July 20, 2004 04:26 PMDid you know PETA euthanizes animals? It's true, they have a freezer for it and everything (gotta love non-profit disclosure laws). They kill over 1000 pets a year. That organization is so far out of whack, I wouldn't trust anything they say period.
Posted by: submarine at July 20, 2004 10:26 PMNormally, I wouldn't, but Pilgrim's Pride has already apologized for the behavior and has launched an investigation to find out who the guilty parties were. KFC said they were appalled and has threatened to stop using them as a supplier. As a result, their stock dropped 3% late yesterday.
If they didn't have the video, I'd probably be skeptical. I've never gotten all worked up about their claims that the chickens were being mistreated when they claimed they were cramped, kept without adequate food and water, etc. But this goes way beyond that, and the video shows it all pretty clearly.
Its disgusting.
Posted by: geekchik at July 21, 2004 06:52 AMYou know, I watched the whole video and that could have been made anywhere. Nothing in it says "Pilgrims Pride" except text PETA added. Of course the company is going to apologize, what else are they going to say? "Hey, we think that's fun and a good way for employees to let off steam."
The convenient camera placement seems highly suspect. Either the "sleeper" employee is just standing there videotaping all of this or the camera is hidden in the radio that's playing. If that's the case, why would you have audio when you know your camera is in a ghetto blaster?
Knowing some of the facts about PETA that they would rather you didn't know, I don't think this organization has any credibility at all. It's like a cooking show hosted by Jeffery Dahmer or a microeconomics class taught by Kenneth Lay.
Posted by: submarine at July 21, 2004 07:42 AMWell, there must be some truth to it. Pilgrim's Pride has already suspended one worker and is investigating three others.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0721kfc-chicken21-ON.html
Obviously, they recognized somebody in the video.
Posted by: geekchik at July 21, 2004 05:03 PMPass the bucket will you?
Posted by: submarine at July 21, 2004 11:28 PMThe big story of the week was the surreptitious videotaping of chickens being abused by employees of Pilgrim's Pride, a supplier to KFC, at its Moorefield, WV, plant. The video showed sickening, pitiful episodes of chickens being thrown and kicked, tobacco being spit into their mouths and eyes, beaks being torn off, etc.
There's no doubt the activities captured on film released by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are simply despicable and wrong. Of course, such abuses lead consumers to question whether the incident is a one-time abhorrent act or something typical of the system