State Watchdog in Pocket of Factory Farm
A few days before police raided the Butterball turkey factory farm in North Carolina, an official at the N.C. Department of Agriculture called the factory farm to give them advance warning that trouble was on the way.
A full investigation of the shocking animal abuse at Butterball had been prompted by undercover video from Mercy for Animals that documented “acts of violence and severe neglect.” Workers can be seen kicking and stomping on turkeys with open wounds, as well as dragging them by their wings and necks.
Now ABC News reports:
The Director of Animal Health Programs [at the N.C. Dept. of Ag.] contacted a veterinarian employed by Butterball. … The government employee allegedly first denied knowing about the investigation until the raid, then admitted she had called the Butterball doctor prior to the raid “and informed him she had heard there was an investigation into a Butterball farm in Hoke County.”
Butterball accounts for 20 percent of total turkey production in the U.S. The company says it was “shocked” by the undercover video (that was going on right under their noses), and has a “zero tolerance policy for any mistreatment of our birds.”
The video from Mercy for Animals indicates quite the opposite. And the fact that the government agency was in cahoots with Butterball, makes it perfectly clear that everyone knew what was going on there
Warning: This video is very disturbing. You may prefer not to view it.