Update—February 1, 2018: Following massive public outcry, the USDA has rejected the NCC’s petition for even faster chicken slaughter speeds. We want to thank the tens of thousands of you responded to our calls for action and submitted passionate comments to the USDA. In total, the USDA received over 100,000 comments from members of the public. While this is great news, we’re not out of the woods yet. Learn more about this victory and the next threat to farm animals here.
In 2014, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) set a cap on slaughter speeds for industrial chicken slaughterhouses after tens of thousands of concerned consumers, inspectors and worker safety advocates spoke out against the dangers of faster slaughter.
These facilities already kill up to 140 birds per minute. That’s more than two birds per second. Now, unless we speak up, Big Chicken could get permission from the USDA to kill birds even faster—all for the sake of lining their pockets.
That’s because the National Chicken Council (the chicken industry’s trade group representing companies including Tyson, Perdue and Pilgrim’s Pride) is petitioning the USDA to allow chicken slaughter plants to increase slaughter speeds. If the USDA accepts this reckless and inhumane proposal, it would cause more painful deaths for chickens, compromise workers’ safety and potentially threaten food safety.
We can’t allow this to happen. The USDA is taking comments on this issue for a short period of time, and the agency needs to hear from you that you won’t allow it to turn its back on birds, workers and consumers for the sake of Big Chicken’s greed.
