Tyson using video monitors in poultry plants
PLUMERVILLE, Ark. — Tyson Foods has installed video cameras in key areas of its poultry operations and will test new ways to slaughter birds — not in response to previous “gotcha” moments but under a corporate philosophy that notes its role as a steward for millions of chickens, the company said.
The Springdale, Arkansasbased meat producer last month hired its first chief sustainability officer and on Wednesday announced a series of animal well-being initiatives. In an interview Tuesday, Justin Whitmore said that while abuses at myriad companies have been exposed through secretly recorded video, taking action now prevents having to react later.
“We want to learn from the opportunities and the challenges we face,” he said, seven weeks after taking his post. “If we see something come up in our system, we’ll look to have the appropriate measures in place to ensure they don’t recur.”
Tyson last August fired 10 workers after secretly recorded video compiled by an animal rights group showed chickens being crushed or swung by their legs and wings. Tyson terminated a contract with a farmer a year earlier after another group released video showing workers standing on birds’ heads to break their necks. Over the past year, Hormel Foods has hired third-party auditors to review hog farms after video showed some animals in very tight quarters and another animal being slammed to the floor.
Lora Wright, Tyson’s director of animal wellbeing, said Tuesday that over the past year, Tyson has installed the industry’s largest third-party monitoring system — with off-site auditors reviewing operations at Tyson’s 33 poultry processing plants across the U.S. and concentrating on areas where workers handle live animals. The company also has trained nearly five dozen animal well-being specialists.