Reward offered after video surfaces of mass killing on hen farm due to COVID staff shortages
Posted January 21, 2022 8:30 am.
Last Updated January 23, 2022 5:31 pm.
An animal advocacy group is offering a reward for information on the alleged mass killings of chickens depicted in two recent TikTok videos.
On January 13th, a user named @steelhaul shared on the social media platform that he’s a truck driver who was sent to haul 52,000 hens who had been killed at a southern Ontario chicken farm.
“Because of the bulls**t with the virus. Look at all that f****** waste of meat. What a shame,” you can hear the TikTok user say, as he shows his truck being loaded with the dead chickens a short distance away.
The second video, which is just about a minute in length, takes you inside a farm where workers are seen tossing the lifeless birds from wheelbarrows onto a conveyor belt believed to be loading the truck outside.
The user’s TikTok account has since been deleted along with the videos, but they live online on other social media platforms, with many asking questions.
“In the first video, the narrator states that the birds had been killed because of pandemic-related staffing shortages at Maple Lodge — a likely reference to the Maple Lodge Farms slaughterhouse in Brampton, Ontario,” reads the release issued by Animal Justice, referencing the recent high rate of COVID-19 infections among employees which has led to a staffing shortage at the Brampton plant even before the Omicron wave.
According to the animal law organization, Maple Lodge Farms slaughters around half a million birds per day and the Brampton location is the major slaughter centre for birds in Ontario.
It remains unclear where and when this took place, how the birds were killed and if they were confirmed deceased before being placed onto the conveyer belt.
“We have no indication of how the chickens were killed, which is highly concerning,” says Camille Labchuk, Executive Director at Animal Justice. “It’s also troubling that farms are still apparently killing animals on-farm at this stage of the pandemic.”
“At a slaughterhouse, federal slaughter laws apply, and there would at least be federal inspectors to monitor the humaneness of the killing,” says Labchuk. “On a farm, there are no humane slaughter standards and no inspectors.”
However, Egg Farmers of Ontario tells CityNews that the videos show birds that had already been humanely euthanized in a matter that complies with government regulations before being prepared for transport to a composting facility.
“These were not broiler birds produced for the chicken market,” says Bill Mitchell, director of Public Affairs. “These older, end-of-lay hens were not intended for human consumption and therefore did not affect the food supply.” He went on to clarify that it was not related to COVID staffing shortages but rather a regular layer farm practice of humanely euthanizing hens at end-of-life through approved methods.
“We are aware of the situation and are working with our stakeholders and partners to better understand the claims in the video,” says Belinda Sutton, Media Relations Strategist for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
“The government is working to assist food processing plants and farms in their efforts to manage livestock due to processing disruptions,” she said adding that they have implemented a number of programs specifically designed to increase capacity, productivity, efficiency and prevent slowdowns.
Animal Justice is offering a $1,000 reward for more information that could potentially identify the farm depicted in the videos, and a $5,000 reward to anyone with evidence of on-farm depopulation taking place, and the methods used in Ontario or elsewhere in Canada.
CityNews reached out to Maple Lodges Farms, but had yet to receive a response for comment.
