PETA Urges BJ's Wholesale Club to Adopt Less Cruel Method of Chicken Slaughter

Shareholder Resolution Asks Retail Giant to Take Action to Reduce Animal Suffering

For Immediate Release:
December 15, 2010

Contact:
Robbyn Brooks 757-622-7382 

Boston — PETA, which owns stock in BJ's Wholesale Club, has submitted a shareholder resolution encouraging the Boston-based wholesale retailer to purchase all its turkeys from suppliers that use a less cruel method of poultry slaughter called "controlled-atmosphere killing" (CAK) by the end of 2012 and to require its chicken suppliers to switch to CAK within four years.

"BJ's should be ashamed that it is lagging behind its competitors in improving conditions for the chickens and turkeys who end up on its shelves," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "There's a way to prevent birds from being scalded to death or having their throats cut while they are still conscious, and consumers are clamoring for it, so it makes sense for BJ's to take action to stop this abuse."

Currently birds who are killed for BJ's Wholesale Club are dumped onto conveyor belts and slammed upside down by their legs into metal shackles—a procedure that often results in broken wings and broken legs. Birds are still conscious when their throats are cut, and many are then scalded to death in defeathering tanks. All these abuses can be eliminated by using CAK, a method in which the oxygen that chickens breathe is slowly replaced with a nonpoisonous gas that puts the birds "to sleep" while they are still in their transport crates.

Many restaurant chains—including Burger King, Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Popeyes, and Wendy's—have made clear a purchasing preference for chicken suppliers that use the less cruel method. And a number of restaurant and grocery chains—including A&P, Harris Teeter, KFCs in Canada, Kroger, Quiznos, Ruby Tuesday, Winn-Dixie, and even McDonald's restaurants in Europe—are already sourcing chickens or turkeys from suppliers that use the less cruel method.

PETA's shareholder resolution is also available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org/cak.