Nov. 20--Mercy for Animals, an animal rights group, released hidden-camera video on Wednesday that showed workers abusing chickens at what is identified as Park Ridge-based Koch Foods locations.
The group asked that Koch Foods, a major chicken processor in the United States, adopt new animal welfare standards to prevent future abuse. The videos were taken from January to April at locations in Tennessee and Mississippi by undercover Mercy for Animals volunteers who got jobs at the plants, said Nick Cooney, director of education at Mercy for Animals.
Koch Foods did not confirm the companies it supplies chicken to and had no comment Wednesday afternoon.
The Mercy for Animals workers applied to facilities across the country that process chickens and took the first jobs they were offered.
"So these facilities were actually chosen at random," Cooney said. "We want the public to be aware of what is going on ... in factory farms.
In the past few years, Mercy for Animals has conducted more than three dozen undercover investigations, a spokesman said.
As of late October, Koch Foods processed more than 50 million pounds of ready-to-cook chicken per week and it slaughtered more than 12 million chickens per week, executives told the Tribune.
Mercy for Animals said it reached out to Koch Foods this week via email and letter.
The videos depict chickens hanging on a moving conveyor line that pulls them through a vat of water charged with electricity. The charge is intended to stun the animals before their throats are cut.
The group suggested a more humane way to kill chickens would be "controlled-atmosphere killing," in which chickens are rendered unconscious by replacing the oxygen in the air with nitrogen, argon or carbon dioxide.
Editor's note: The Tribune has chosen not to show the video here because of its graphic nature.
Tribune reporters Mary Ellen Podmolik and Jessica Wohl contributed.
ehirst@tribpub.com
Twitter @ellenjeanhirst
