Workers at the Hy-Line hatchery in Iowa were caught on video using the most gruesome method for disposing of unwanted newborn male chicks. The chicks were sent into a grinder while they were alive.
A video shot by an undercover animal rights activist who was hired by the hatchery was given to the Associated Press, who reported the shocking story to the public. Chicago-based Mercy for Animals said it shot the video during a two-week period in May and June.
It graphically shows innocent, live chicks being lifted onto a conveyor belt that carries them to a chute which drops them into a grinding machine. In other parts of the video a chick is shown dying on the factory floor after falling through a machine and another dying after being scalded.
Mercy for Animals is calling for the grocery chains that purchase eggs from the hatchery to post warnings on the egg cartons, telling consumers about the horrific practice.
The hatchery in Iowa is owned by Hy-Line North America, which is the leading egg producer in the country. The Iowa facility produces 33.4 million chicks annually. Nationally the company produces 200 million female chicks a year. They also produce 200 million male chicks, for which they have no use.
Mitch Head is the company’s spokesperson. His initial response to the video was that an investigation “of the entire situation” will be completed. He also added that it would have helped their investigation “had we been aware of the potential violation immediately after it occurred.” He said the video “appears to show an inappropriate action and violation of our animal welfare policies.”
Head was referring to the chicks that died on the floor from falling or being scaled, not the ones in the grinder.
That is because he and Hy-Line North America strongly defend their policy of using a grinder to dispose of unwanted male chicks. This is what he had to say about the practice.
First he notes that the killing is an “instantaneous euthanasia” that is backed by the veterinary and scientific community. Using a grinder, Head said, “Is the most instantaneous way to euthanize chicks.”
“There is, unfortunately, no way to breed eggs that only produce female hens,” he continued. “If someone has a need for 200 million male chicks, we’re happy to provide them to anyone who wants them. But we can find no market, no need.”
Sadly, both the United Egg Producers and the Humane Society of the United States confirmed what Head had to say. Jonathan Loworn, vice president and chief counsel for HSUS reported that there is no federal law that guarantees the humane euthanasia of animals on farms or hatcheries. Furthermore Loworn warned that, “Virtually all egg farms, even those that sell cage-free eggs, get their hens from hatcheries that kill their male chicks.”
Nathan Runkle, executive director of Mercy for Animals, asked, “Is this justifiable just for cheap eggs? The entire industrial hatchery system subjects these birds to stress, fear and pain from the first day,” he said.
Comments
If grinding live baby chicks shocks you, then stop contributing to their suffering by cutting out eggs and chicken from your diet TODAY. If you do eat eggs and chicken, then know your actions contribute to this sort of industry practice that has been going on for decades. BTW - chicks by the millions are also suffocated in piles of black plastic bags in factory farms across the country.
Thank Sharon for bringing this repulsive practice to the attention of the public. It's the reason why I don't eat eggs or meat any longer.
I will never buy another egg. That means I'll have to raise my own pet chickens for eggs.
I don't the answer to this problem but after watching the video it sure makes it difficult to support the Hi-Line Hatchery, it was disgusting and for some reason, no matter what the industry says, it's just WRONG.
Ugh. Just ugh. I'm going to go the the free-range organic hippie eggs. At 50 cent more a box, I won't have to worry about baby chick ghosts haunting me in my dreams.
You tree huggers need to get a life and get over it.
They are just chicks, they are nothing to us.
they do not have the brain to know fear and death.
you are an ASS and are nothing to us. You do not have the brain to know fear and death - unless it is your own - what a fool!
This is just sickening. I eat chicken and eggs just like most of the population does. But after seeing this, I will go back to raising my own for family consumption- I will NOT purchase another commercial egg or chicken again, I wont support this, and I had no idea this went on. The bible says "all creatures great and small"... so don't tell me "they're just chicks without fear or comprehension", I don't buy into that.
I'm so done ! I will never buy another egg or chicken from the supermarket. This is SICK SICK SICK. How do they know they don't feel it? Maybe they should stick their hand in and see if it hurts... it's about the same size!
Wow this is horrible. I really don't know what else to say.
this is horific and mean..i am astonished this is happening..
This video made me hungry... KFC here I come... mmm mmm mm
Google "Tyson chicken cruelty" sometime and read the stories of people that used to work there before their cruelty got exposed. It's absolutely horrifying.
Its a great idea all u folks wanto raise your own chickens and eggs, for personal consumption , but but dont you get it, they will still kill off the males...DUHHHHHHHHH
Yeah, but we won't be giving them OUR money, which is all they want...DUHHHHHHHHHHHH
I am just curious what is done with the ground up chicks? Is it discarded or made into hotdogs? :/
In the end, this is no different than the government sending Americans to war for financial gain and/or population control. We are just chicks in the grinder.
Grinding up live chicks is claimed by many in the egg industry to be standard procedure and the practice is widespread. The spokesman for the company just whines that there is no commercial use (profit-making use) for the male chicks. All that matters to them is the bottom line and how much money can be made. He also tries to discredit the group that did the work to expose this atrocity (Mercy for Animals) by saying they are a group that wants all egg consumption to cease. Well, If you have to grind baby chicks alive in order to get eggs -- then maybe no one should eat eggs! Hello!!!! The things people will do for money! Geez!
Yes Jill, go have some KFC so you can die before bringing any insensitive genetic farts into this world such as yourself. You're a c**t to put it lightly.
"Organic meat/milk/eggs" = same slavery, different name.
Go vegan and make a difference...hit these greedy businesses where it hurts, their pockets, this isn't natural and factory farms should not exist. Eating dead animals, aborted eggs and drinking pus is bad for your health, you are paying these companies millions not only to mistreat, torture, and kill these animals, but in the end, you're paying them to kill YOU slowly.
It is disingenuous to think that there is no connection between the blatant disregard for the suffering of any living creature and what humans do to each other or to the environment. Obviously these issues can't be solved over night, but we had better solve them, our survival as a species depends on it. There is a big difference between the slaughter of animals for food and a machine that coldly crushes the life out of thousands of animals a minute. The time won't be far off when we begin to feel that dealing with unwanted/disliked segments of our society may benefit from the same horrible cold logic.
A comparable analog to what happens to us when we let this kind of thinking that "anything justifies the bottom line" runs riot. It was in the recent revelation that a major drug company was pushing it's sales people to sell a drug for off label use to raise the bottom line at any cost, with no regard for the possibilty that human deaths could result.
What the hell man Id like to kill the freaking owner of this and jj shutup.Baby chicks are cute and all but they dont deserve to die on Day 1 of there life.Animals arent like us,they dont have a spirit or soul.Once there gone there gone and the rest of there life is pitch-black with no dreams and they never will get a second chance,and this is all true you know no lie or joke its in the bible.I dont understand why they just let them grow into adults then kill.What is the owner sad cause he has no life or friends and he's sad cause he's a dumbass.I will join Mercy for Animals anyday and PETA.
Exactly Josh. I feel the same way. WAY TO GO!!!!
You can help by paying more for your meat or be a vegetarian or if you dont care watch the die in front of you and see how you feel.
that video made me hungry for chicken sausage!
First of all, not a single one of you even know how the poultry industry works. The breeders and growers are usually separate from the rest of the industry. They are not greedy, they are at the mercy of the companies that hire them. They cannot afford to keep animals that will not make them at least a little profit.
Since you guys have such strong feelings, why don't you shell out $, and buy the males. Feed them, house them, water them, clean up after them, vaccinate them, de-worm them and kill them when they're too old and decrepit to walk. But do it humanely or you might be the subject of a bunch of uneducated nobodies criticism. Heaven forbid! There, perfect solution. Do it and stop complaining.
First of all, not a single one of you even know how the poultry industry works. The breeders and growers are usually separate from the rest of the industry. They are not greedy, they are at the mercy of the companies that hire them. They cannot afford to keep animals that will not make them at least a little profit.
Since you guys have such strong feelings, why don't you shell out $, and buy the males. Feed them, house them, water them, clean up after them, vaccinate them, de-worm them and kill them when they're too old and decrepit to walk. But do it humanely or you might be the subject of a bunch of uneducated nobodies criticism. Heaven forbid! There, perfect solution. Do it and stop complaining.
I say ignore the yelping from the person under me here and just GO VEGAN! If you would not do these things yourself do not support companies or people who do! See the comment below for EXCUSES of inhumane treatment...it always comes back to money...why are we that low? Life is not dollar bills guys. GO VEGAN AND SPARE THE EXCUSES! google the term VEGAN...it wont hurt....but supporting this industry with your money will kill!
How is that yelping Dallas? Eggcellent solution provided a perfectly logical fix for all YOUR yelping. Go make a withdrawal from your account, purchase the chicks and shut up!
this is gross -- and so is this video inside an egg farm that sells eggs to our own boston-based Dunkin Donuts!
dunkincruelty.com/investigation
I raise chickens in my backyard because I don't approve of what commercial growers and producers do to chickens. And to the person who said animals have no soul... I disagree. Respect is what is missing. So, the solution is to raise your own eggs and meat. I raise about 100 free range chickens... and not the creapy cornish cross that you buy from the supermarket. I will buy straight run chicks which means that I get both males and females the males end up a delicious alternative to nasty store bought chicken and although tough make EXCELLENT soup stock. I raise a chicken called colored rangers for a more tender meat. These chickens still act like chickens. I live in the middle of Kansas City, MO. You can grow your own food too and then you are not a part of the needless killing and waist of life such as this video shows. Otherwise, do what so many have said already... Go Vegan!!!
Of course the spokesman for the company would not have any problem with this practice. Knowing him he probably would do it for fun in his own backyard, that's the kind of person he is, no heart no soul, he's just another suit out to make money. And Mitch, no matter how much money you make, you can't buy a conscience you've never had one and you never will.
I cant believe all these people here defending these barbarians. All the people here who are making comments defending these monsters should be ground up, lets see how you feel! And ALL LIVING CREATURES are souls, not just humans. These chicks are innocents, they do not deserve to die, and in this way, just because of money. Humans were given the task of taking care of animals, NOT killing them. If you ask me, its humans who are the animals and are the lower life forms.
Those poor chickens man. It starts with animals and then ends up with humans. Oh I dont like that guy time to grind him up yeeeaaaahhhh
Die chickens die so that I might have cheap and plentiful eggs and chicken.
ff
There is a simple solution to this. Simply be willing to pay hard working local folks a little more for your eggs and chickens than the price at your supermarket. Not only will this reduce practices shown in the video, but the quality and healthfulness of your food will likely be much better.
As a side note I'd like to know how many of those outraged over this video are supporters of abortion?
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