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At Company's Annual Meeting, Group Will Call for Less Cruel, More Profitable Slaughter Method
For Immediate Release:February 3, 2011
Contact:Robbyn Brooks 757-622-7382
Springdale, Ark. — A representative of PETA—which is a Tyson shareholder—will grill executives at the company's annual meeting in Springdale tomorrow. The group wants to determine what plans Tyson has to move toward a less cruel method of poultry slaughter called "controlled-atmosphere killing" (CAK).
When: Friday, February 4, 10 a.m.
Where: Holiday Inn Northwest Arkansas Convention Center, 1500 S. 48th St., Springdale
"Tyson may be an industry leader in sales revenue, but when it comes to the treatment of chickens, the company is lagging far behind," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "Consumers care about animal welfare, so the best thing that any business can do is to take action to reduce animal abuse."
Currently, birds who are killed for Tyson 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 and turkeys breathe is slowly replaced with a nonpoisonous gas that puts the birds "to sleep" while they are still in their transport crates.
PETA wants Tyson to join the ranks of California chicken producer Pitman Family Farms, also known as Mary's Chickens, and Pennsylvania chicken producer Bell & Evans—both of which have pledged to implement CAK. Restaurant chains Burger King, Popeyes, Wendy's, Hardee's, and Carl's Jr. are giving purchasing preference to suppliers that use CAK, and KFCs in Canada and grocery chains Safeway, Harris Teeter, and Winn-Dixie are already purchasing birds killed by CAK or have committed to doing so.
For more information, please visit PETA.org/cak.