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.
Billions Killed Out of Sight
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 and the USDA to help move companies that slaughter birds toward a less cruel system.
Help stop thisNews & Events
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June 20, 2016
New York legislature cracks down on the proliferation of live animal slaughter markets
The Humane Society of the United States commends the New York Legislature for passing S.7345 / A.10170, which extends a four-year moratorium prohibiting the licensing of any new live animal slaughter markets within 1,500 feet of a residential dwelling in New York City.
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March 31, 2016
Ag-Gag Laws
Ag-gag bills seek to conceal animal cruelty and abuse. Instead of stopping abuse on factory farms, Big Ag would rather make it illegal to expose it!
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March 25, 2016
How to Read Meat and Dairy Labels
Learn what claims like "certified organic" or "free-range" on meat and dairy labels mean for animal welfare.
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March 11, 2016
Gag Order: Big Ag seeks to stifle reform with "ag gag" bills
Agribusiness has introduced anti-whistleblower or “ag-gag” bills in numerous states aimed at making whistleblowing on factory farms essentially impossible.
