It's time to close a gaping loophole that has brought unnecessary suffering to billions of chickens, turkeys, ducks, and other birds who are slaughtered for food. To help end this staggering problem, The HSUS is circulating a petition calling upon Congress to amend the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA) to specifically state that birds are included in its provisions.
Passed in 1958, the HMSA stipulates that livestock be rendered insensible to pain before they are shackled and killed in slaughter plants. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) does not consider birds to be livestock, therefore exempting them from the HMSA's modest protection.
As a result of the USDA policy, processors continue to slaughter billions of birds annually using such inhumane methods as shackling them upside-down, electrically stunning them into paralysis (but not unconsciousness), and sometimes even drowning them in tanks of scalding water%u2014all while countless birds are fully conscious.
Take Action!
Sign our Petition for Poultry and urge the USDA to protect the nine billion birds killed each year for food from the worst abuses.
And tragically, sadistic slaughterhouse cruelty is also a serious problem. For example, an undercover investigation at a West Virginia Pilgrim's Pride slaughterhouse revealed workers stomping live chickens and hurling them into concrete walls.
Mimi Brody, director of federal affairs for The HSUS, states, "The Petition for Poultry, demonstrates to Congressmembers that their constituents support explicit inclusion of birds in the HMSA%u2014and oppose the shocking cruelty that billions of animals endure during slaughter each year."
To date, more than 140,000 people have signed the petition. The incredible response shows that people across the country demand that animals raised for food deserve better than the cruelty they currently endure.
What You Can Do
Sign the Petition for Poultry and pass it along to friends and relatives.
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Petition for Poultry
Electric Stunning
Related Links
Turkeys and Chickens Get Their Day in Court
Worker Rights and Animal Welfare Groups Join Forces for Humane Slaughter
A Century of Cruelty: The Jungle Revisited
Still a Jungle Out There: The HSUS Takes USDA to Court to Ensure a Humane End for Birds
An HSUS Report: Welfare Issues with Electrical Stunning of Poultry
An HSUS Report: The Economics of Adopting Alternative Production Practices to Electrical Stunning Slaughter of Poultry
Human Health Implications of Live Hang of Chickens and Turkeys on Slaughterhouse Workers
An HSUS Report: The Welfare of Animals in the Broiler Chicken Industry
An HSUS Report: The Welfare of Animals in the Turkey Industry
The HSUS Guide to Vegetarian Eating
Choice Eats: Chicken-Friendly Products