Animal Justice Project: ‘This is the horrific face of so-called high-welfare turkey farming – live plucking, a filthy, blood-drenched kill floor, and the scalding of birds alive'.
EMMA BRAZELL: ‘Christmas turkeys at a free-range farm were plucked alive and chickens were put in a scalding hot tank still flapping and struggling, according to claims from investigators. Footage from hidden cameras exposes the ‘horrific’ manner in which animals were killed inside award-winning Pastures Farm in Northamptonshire, activists say. They claim the video shows workers breaking rules set by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) around slaughter.
It appears to show turkeys still flapping as they are plucked almost immediately after having their throats cut – seemingly not adhering to DEFRA’s rule that they must be allowed to ‘bleed out’ for two minutes… Guinea fowl also appear to be alive while having their feathers pulled off before their throats are slit. The activists placed the cameras in the farm without posing as employees, they said…
The Animal Justice Project said the footage should persuade families to opt for a ‘compassionate plant-based Christmas’. Claire Palmer, spokesperson from Animal Justice Project, said: ‘This is the horrific face of so-called high-welfare turkey farming – live plucking, a filthy, blood-drenched kill floor, and the scalding of birds alive. ‘This company supplies cutesy farmers markets, and portrays itself as having high standards, but the reality is very, very different’…
The farm, which was a runner-up in the Northamptonshire food and drink awards 2018-19, states on its website: ‘We rear our free-range birds on the farm enjoying the outdoors on grass in a natural environment and our barn-eared birds have clean dry straw daily with lots of space. All our processing and butchery is carried out on the farm in our 5-star hygiene-rated butchery’.’ SOURCE…
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