For Immediate Release:

July 7, 2006

Contact:  

Matt Prescott 757-622-7382

Currently, birds killed for Costco are dumped onto conveyors and hung upside-down by their legs in metal shackles—causing broken bones—and their heads are run through an electrified bath that gives them painful shocks without rendering them insensible to pain. Most are still conscious when their throats are slit or when they are scalded to death in defeathering tanks.

With CAK, the oxygen that birds breathe is slowly replaced with inert, nonpoisonous gasses—such as argon and nitrogen—putting the birds “to sleep” quickly and painlessly. Studies of CAK conclude that in addition to being the most humane form of poultry slaughter, it also results in economic benefits.

As part of its campaign to move the food industry toward implementing CAK, PETA has become a shareholder in 24 companies, including Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger, and Tyson Foods.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.