Imagine being hung upside down, shocked into paralysis, having your throat cut, then drowned in hot water...while you’re conscious. That’s the stuff of nightmares, and it’s the tragic reality for billions of birds each year. These animals have virtually no protection from the worst slaughter abuses.
Nearly all animals killed for food in the U.S. are chickens and turkeys—more than nine billion each year. They're shackled upside down, paralyzed by electrified water and dragged over mechanical throat-cutting blades ... all while conscious. Millions of birds each year miss the blades and drown in tanks of scalding water.
This occurs because the U.S. Department of Agriculture exempts birds from its enforcement of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, which requires that farm animals be insensible to pain before they're shackled and killed. The HSUS is working with retailers to help move companies that slaughter birds toward a less cruel system.
An Inhumane End
The electrical stunning system, globally used to kill chickens, is increasingly coming under scrutiny as research suggests that it can be both inhumane and ineffective.
Learn MoreNews & Events
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January 26, 2012
HSUS elogia a comités legislativos de Florida por eliminar texto contra denunciantes de abuso animal en legislación agrícola
La organización Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) elogió al Comité de Agricultura en el Senado de la Florida y al Subcomité de Justicia Penal en la Cámara por haber eliminado una disposición perjudicial contendida dentro de los proyectos de ley SB1184/HB 1021 que pretendía criminalizar a aquellos empleados que denunciasen el abuso animal, las condiciones de trabajo inseguras, la destrucción del medio ambiente así como otros problemas que ocurren en las granjas.
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January 25, 2012
The HSUS Praises Florida Legislative Committees for Removing “Ag-Gag” Language from Agricultural Bill
The HSUS praised Florida’s Senate Agriculture Committee and House Criminal Justice Subcommittee for removing a harmful provision from SB1184/HB 1021 aimed at criminalizing whistleblowing employees who expose animal abuse, unsafe working conditions, environmental destruction and other problems on farms.
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January 23, 2012
The HSUS Expresses Disappointment in Supreme Court Ruling Nullifying Much of California Law to Bar the Abuse of Downed Animals
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down most provisions of California’s downed animal law, effectively stripping the states of any authority to protect our food supply and the welfare of animals from the slaughterhouse industry and the dealers and producers who work with them.
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October 18, 2011
New Agricultural Council Brings Nebraska Farmers, Ranchers and Animal Welfare Advocates to the Table to Discuss Common Goals
To advance more humane practices on farms and ranches and to promote food producers who share that goal, The Humane Society of the United States joined the Nebraska Farmers Union in Lincoln to announce the formation of an advisory body, the Nebraska Agriculture Council of The Humane Society of the United States.
Our Victories
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December 29, 2011
A Historic Year for Farm Animals
In 2011, The HSUS joined the United Egg Producers to press for legislation phasing out the egg production using barren battery cages. We summarize this effort and our progress for farm animals in other areas.
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June 7, 2011
Progress for Egg-Laying Hens
Summarizes the progress made for egg-laying hens since the No Battery Eggs campaign began in 2005.
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February 7, 2011
USDA Proposes New Protections for Downer Veal Calves
In response to a legal petition filed by The HSUS, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has tentatively approved new rules to protect downed veal calves – those unable even to stand – from slaughter abuse.
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June 30, 2010
Landmark Ohio Animal Welfare Agreement Reached Among HSUS, Ohioans for Humane Farms, Gov. Strickland, and Leading Livestock Organizations
A deal struck among The HSUS, Ohioans for Humane Farms, Ohio agriculture leaders and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland will lead to major animal welfare improvements in Ohio on a raft of issues.