OSPCA investigates incident at turkey breeder's

Thursday, March 6, 2014

by SUSAN MANN

The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is investigating an incident of alleged animal abuse in a Hybrid Turkeys barn caught on video by an animal rights’ activist who posed as a job seeker, got a job with the company and gained access to one of the company’s barns for eight weeks this winter.

Agent Brad Dewar, OSPCA investigation communications officer, says by email the society is in the very early stages of an investigation and will be reviewing all of the information provided to it. The society will also have industry experts review the material too. But “all of the information that is provided is protected under the Privacy Act” and Dewar says that means he can’t discuss any of the information or its contents.

Meanwhile, Hybrid Turkeys, a turkey breeding company with headquarters in Kitchener, has suspended four employees with pay starting on Wednesday over the incident, which involved euthanizing a turkey, while it investigates the matter. Company officials were shown an undercover video shot by an animal rights’ activist that showed employees at one of the company’s barns in southwestern Ontario using euthanasia methods that even though they’re approved by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, “violate Hybrid’s strict animal welfare protocols,” Hybrid says in a March 5 press release.

In addition to suspending the employees, the company has taken a number of steps to address the situation including:

• Launching an independent, third party investigation to review the incident along with Hybrid’s animal welfare program, employee training and quality practices.
• Introducing mandatory video monitoring and veterinary review of all turkey euthanasia, which hasn’t started yet but will begin soon.
• Introducing a new, easier to use tool for euthanasia plus training in the use of the new tool. Designed in Europe, the tool is painless for the animal, quick and easy for the operator to use.
• Initiating a co-operative research agreement on more effective and humane forms of euthanasia with the University of Guelph’s Campbell Centre for Animal Welfare.

The activist who shot the video is with Mercy for Animals Canada, a group that describes itself on its website as a non-profit animal rights organization focused on promoting a vegetarian diet.

Krista Osborne, Mercy for Animals Canada director of operations, says they’re working with law enforcement “on a matter related to factory farming.” Asked if it’s related to Hybrid Turkeys, she declined to answer saying “I’d rather not say at this point.”

She says Mercy for Animals Canada will be holding a very detailed press conference next Friday “and we’ll be answering all of your questions then.”

Hybrid produces premium quality, high health parent stock eggs and poults for customers around the world. Hybrid has 11 farms all located within one hour of Kitchener, 50 barns and 200 employees, says Helen Wojcinski, Hybrid manager of science and sustainability.

Hybrid unknowingly had a member of Mercy for Animals Canada working on their farm as an egg gatherer from early December to the end of January. “She is the same person who did the undercover video of the Alberta egg incident” in mid-October last year, Wojcinski says, adding Hybrid has since learned that the activist changed her name after working on the Alberta egg farm.

Hybrid Turkeys has zero tolerance for animal abuse, managing director David Libertini says in the release. Based on audits and third party inspections, “we believe this to be an isolated incident.”

Still, the company is disappointed the incident has “detracted from the strong commitment for animal welfare that is exhibited on a daily basis by Hybrid and the overwhelming majority of our employees,” the release says.

Wojcinski says Hybrid first became aware of the video after she was contacted by the CBC on Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. But CBC representatives declined to show Hybrid officials the video unless they were permitted to film company officials watching it as part of an interview. Wojcinski declined to do that. Hybrid had an industry contact that was able to get the video and show it to them.

Wojcinski says she doesn’t know when the video was shot.

It’s critical that euthanasia be done correctly and Hybrid’s number one mandate is only trained, competent people “are allowed to handle our animals,” she says, adding that employees must be specifically certified within Hybrid to perform euthanasia.

Hybrid has a specifically designed tool that employees use to dislocate the turkey’s spinal cord from its brain stem. The euthanasia method has to be quick and render the bird unconscious “and then death follows after that,” she says. Employee training also covers bird evaluation to know the euthanasia was effective.

The undercover video shows someone using the tool to dislocate a turkey’s spinal cord from its brain stem “and then I don’t know what happened but then you see the employee and they resort to actually using the tool itself as means of blunt force trauma,” she says, adding the tool is heavy enough to use for blunt force trauma.

Blunt force trauma is also an approved method of euthanasia but most veterinary groups recommend other methods be used. Hybrid does not use blunt force trauma in its operations.

Wojcinski says in another shot someone picked up a shovel and used the blade to hit the top of the turkey’s head. “If you watch the video you will see the bird start to violently wing flap but that is an involuntary reaction and that’s actually what happens and tells you that you effectively euthanized the bird.”

All employees must sign a form as a condition of employment that says they understand and have been told about Hybrid’s animal welfare policies, what their responsibilities are and that they agree to abide by the policies, she says. The form also states if employees see situations of animal mistreatment or violence they must report it and if they do it themselves they can be suspended pending an investigation along with possibly being terminated and facing criminal charges.

People have been fired from Hybrid in the past for animal welfare policy violations but Wojcinski says she didn’t know the severity of those incidents.

Wojcinski says the person who shot the video also signed the employee agreement but didn’t report the incident to the company as she was supposed to do. “If she would have told us (at the time when she shot the video) we would have taken exactly the same actions, which is suspending the employees in question, doing an investigation and then deciding what to do with those employees.”

Birds with structural defects or severe, unrecoverable injuries, such as a broken wing, leg or severe depression are euthanized immediately. Birds with minor injuries or turkeys that appear to not be doing well are removed from flocks and placed in a recovery pen where it’s easy for them to get to feed and water and they aren’t subjected to pecking by the other turkeys, she says. Those birds are returned to the flock if they recover and if not they’re euthanized.

Turkey Farmers of Canada says in a press release it commends Hybrid for taking action on the incident. BF