In 2008, PETA had soaring successes in reforming factory farming abuses and promoting veganism.

In a huge victory for our worldwide KFC campaign, PETA negotiated a landmark agreement with the company that coordinates the purchase of chicken for all Canadian KFCs. Suppliers to all KFC restaurants in Canada will now be required to adopt more humane slaughter technology, and they are being encouraged to phase out growth-promoting drugs and breeding practices that painfully cripple chickens. The majority of Canadian KFCs have also added a vegan faux-chicken sandwich to their menus.

In 2008, PETA secured agreements with other major fast-food and supermarket giants, resulting in less suffering for millions of animals. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Popeye’s, Safeway, Harris Teeter, and Winn-Dixie agreed to adopt animal welfare reforms, including giving purchasing preference to meat suppliers that switch to a less cruel slaughter method for chickens. The grocery chains will also purchase less pig meat from suppliers that use gestation crates—cruel devices that virtually immobilize pigs for months on end—and purchase fewer eggs from suppliers that use “battery cages,” in which hens are crammed so tightly that they can’t even spread their wings.

PETA’s undercover investigations documented horrendous cruelty—and won victories for animals—in the following cases:

• After a PETA investigation at turkey factory farms in West Virginia revealed that workers were punching, throwing, and kicking live birds; bludgeoning them with pipes and 2-by-4s; twisting their necks in an attempt to break them and stomping on their heads, Aviagen, the company that owns the farms, terminated the abusive workers and their supervisor. Aviagen also plans to implement changes to prevent further cruelty.
• At an Iowa pig farm that supplies Hormel Foods, mother pigs were beaten, sexually abused, and electrically shocked; 22 criminal charges are pending against six former farm employees.
• Chickens were maimed and scalded to death at two Tyson Foods slaughterhouses in Georgia and Tennessee—and our evidence prompted a federal investigation and a warning that future abuses could result in a product recall.
• At Agriprocessors, the world’s largest glatt kosher slaughterhouse, cows had holes ripped in their throats while they were still conscious. As a result of our 2008 investigation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited Agriprocessors again for violating the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. Agriprocessors has since filed for bankruptcy, and its cattle-slaughter operations have closed.
• Pigs were beaten and poked in the eyes at a North Carolina pig farm that supplies Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pig-meat company. One worker has been charged on six counts of cruelty to animals; a second worker who fled will face charges when he is apprehended.
• In kapporos ritual sacrifices in New York City, chickens were abused and painfully slaughtered by the tens of thousands. As a result of our investigation, the number of chickens slaughtered at the main ritual site was reduced by half in 2008.

“Last month ... the pork industry got a wake-up call with the release of a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals video showing inappropriate animal handling and, yes, abuses of hogs on an Iowa farm. ... It’s important to note that PETA also targeted Hormel in this case. A smart ... tactic. Smart because Hormel is closer to the consumer with recognizable brands. ... Consumers responded. Hormel received more than 10,000 phone calls in two days.”

—Pork magazine (a meat-industry publication), October 2008