The famous fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken, or KFC, is not as nice as The Kernel puts on. I just watched a video (which I will include a link to of course) that exposed the unimaginable cruelty that goes on in KFC factories. First off, the chickens are bred to be “top heavy” (for more meat) which in some cases makes their legs break because their legs cannot withstand the weight. Secondly, they are kept in incredibly small cages, with not enough room to spread their wings. Thirdly, these birds live in their own feces, literally. Fourth, workers at these plants carelessly and forcefully throw and shove the birds by whatever they happen to grab (whether it be a wing, foot or face) into small “sheds” where they bang against the walls if the workers don’t have good aim (which they don’t)  and break more bones. Fifth, their beaks are chopped off in a machine when they are just chicks- and yes it bleeds. As a part of the daily slaughtering process, the birds are hung upside down, electrically shocked their throats are cut and then placed in boiled water, where some are still conscious and are finally boiled to death.  In one KFC slaughterhouse in West Virginia, that was actually given the “supplier of the year” award, undercover video taken by PETA showed workers launching live birds into brick walls, then stomping on them! They spray painted their faces, I guess for amusement and then they even ripped off the heads of these suffering birds! In another KFC slaughterhouse, the birds were basically exploded by makeshift firecrackers! How is this possible? It surely isn’t humane, or something I would want to support - so guess who doesn’t eat at KFC anymore? ME!

Here’s the site, just click to watch the video. It is narrated by Pamela Anderson - if you didn’t already know, she’s a big animal rights activist. If nothing else, I suggest watching about 2/3rds in, so you can see how some workers threw and stomped on the chickens that you and I ate.

http://www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com/w-whykfc.asp

 To see more videos of the same cruelty going on at different KFC plants around the world, click on this link. You have the choice of seeing undercover investigations that revealed terrible cruelty at the KFC plant in Missouri, Maryland, West Virginia, Alabama and many places abroad!! How wonderful!

http://www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com/u-undercover.asp

Have any of you ever heard of the Westland Meat Company? How about Hallmark Meat Packing? These two companies are partners in crime - literally. They are slaughterhouse partners, that had been the #2 supplier of beef to school districts’ lunch programs all over the nation. After an undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States, it was discovered that these companies were inhumanely treating and killing the livestock at their slaughterhouse. A formal investigation was then led by the Department of Agriculture, which eventually forced the plants to close. The Food Safety and Inspection Service, after investigation, stated that these slaughterhouses were “in clear violation of Federal regulations and  the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act” (source: http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2008/02/usda-westland.html).  The HSUS released video captured by a person working undercover for them, in which downed cows (cows that were too sick/weak to stand on their own) were stabbed with electric prods in attempts to force them to stand, they were stabbed with the prongs of  forklift, stabbed in the face and eyes and they were even dragged by chains in order to get them to “the killroom”. It is illegal to slaughter a downed cow because they are highly susceptable to diseases such as E. Coli, salmonela and mad cow disease. The slaughter plants were closed, and two employeers were charged with felony animal cruelty. Think about that - these possibly diseased cows were not only being tortured, but were being slaughtered for human consumption - mostly as school lunches!! More than 150 school districts across the nation pulled meat from cafeterias and two major restaurant chains have stopped getting meat from that slaughter plant. No one can guess the large costs so far in terms of lost credibility to federal regulators, investigation expenses as well as additional cost of replacing food.

If you would like to see some of the undercover video released by the HSUS, click on this link, scroll down just a little and then of the picture of downer cow. I warn you, this video contains graphic images. http://www.hsus.org/farm/news/ournews/undercover_investigation_update_013008.html

For my first blog, I figured I’d chose a topic that was very publicized, so there is a greater chance that you guys may have heard about it, and know a little about the abuses that occurred. It all started on April 25, 2007, when police served a search warrant (for drugs) after Vick’s cousin was arrested on drug charges. Over sixty dogs were siezed from the property of Michael Vick. The dogfighting company Bad Newz Kennels was operating on property for the past five years, and Vick admitted to taking part in the betting and watching of dogfights that occurred on his property. He even took part in executing the dogs that did not win - (as if they weren’t bloodied enough) by throwing them to the ground, hanging them , drowning or electrocuting them. A large dog graveyard was found on the property of the dogs that weren’t winners. He was sentenced to 23 months in prison. Because of all the publicity, Vick lost many of his sponsors, including the ones with Reebok and Nike. Thanks to the cruel and idiotic actions of this once famous NFL star, animal rights organizations were able to publicize a once hidden animal abuse issue. Now many more people know about this cruel underground sport.

Now, what many of you don’t know: many of the pit bulls siezed from Michael Vick’s property were assumed to be euthanized, unable to be placed into homes. Well guess what? Many of the siezed dogs weren’t vicious and blood thirsty - they were very friendly and loving, happy to be rescued from their life of torture. Twenty two of them were placed in a sanctuary called “Best Friends”, others were sent to “Bad Rap” and others were placed into families! If you click on the link below, you can see a slide show of some of the Michael Vick dogs  Then and Now.

http://www.badrap.org/rescue/vick/index.cfm