PETA’s undercover video alleges Butterball’s Thanksgiving Turkeys are victims of abuse and cruelty

Butterball, a major turkey manufacturer in the US, is facing a boycott ahead of Thanksgiving after undercover footage resurfaced by PETA on its Instagram handle, shows disturbing accounts of the turkeys subjected to sexual violence and cruelty in the company’s facility. The graphic video captured in 2006 at Butterball's Ozark, Arkansas facility by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) exposes workers sexually assaulting turkeys.
“Was the “Thanksgiving turkey” sitting in the middle of your dining room table a victim of sexual assault?” asks PETA. An anonymous PETA investigator claims to have witnessed the workers at the facility sexually abusing turkeys. According to the investigator, the workers “brag about the abuse.” The disturbing footage also shows employees kicking and stomping on turkeys, and others boasting about how he struck the bird so hard that its eyeballs popped out.
The PETA investigator documented several cruelties that the turkeys endured between April and July 2006.
“One frustrated worker kicked a bird in the head and another broke a bird’s neck so that her head was touching her back. He laughed about this. Another worker was slamming birds into the shackles,” reads the investigator's statement on the PETA's website.
Another statement of eyewitness says the workers sexually abuse the bird, “One worker was inserting his finger into a turkey’s vagina [cloaca] for ‘fun’ during a break when the line was stopped. Another worker said he could paralyze birds by punching their necks in a certain way and demonstrated this on one bird.”
In the July 13, 2006 statement, the investigator reveals, “One worker grabbed a bird by her legs and jerked her back and forth toward another worker to tease him—the second worker grabbed her and punched her to push her back. Later, another worker grabbed the head of a live turkey poking through the coop, twisted the bird’s head around, and handed it to another worker, who pulled the head while the first worker punched and kicked her neck. They were trying to decapitate her.”
In the graphic video, the undercover investigator said that a worked allegedly ‘humped’ a turkey while it was restrained, “A worker violently threw birds into the shackles and grabbed one by her neck, and another worker humped a bird whose legs and head he had crammed into the shackle.”
“One worker smashed birds into the shackles. A pool of water had collected at our ankles. The guys would throw the turkeys into the water and kick them to make them splash, then kill them to make them stop splashing," the investigator stated.
The resurfaced video has taken the internet by storm. Netizens are expressing their concern over the animal cruelty. "That first video is absolutely disgusting. If they are so willing to do this imagine what they want to do to other vulnerable creatures? Our children?" an Instagram user commented on the PETA video. "Thankyou for posting this. It’s hard to watch however people who purchase turkeys need to know what they’re paying for," another wrote.

A Butterball spokesperson in a statement to The Independent said that they are ‘aware of a video from nearly 20 years ago, which is being re-shared across social media’. The spokesperson further added that this video is ‘not current and in no way reflects’ their animal welfare policies. In the statement, the spokesperson also stated that animal care and well-being are pivotal for their company, and they are committed to the ethical and responsible care of their flocks. The spokesperson further said that ‘maintaining the health and well-being of the turkeys is an ongoing effort’.
PETA also reminds us that Butterball is not alone in subjecting animals to extreme cruelty, but there are similar incidents such as the 2021 Plainville Farms investigation, which resulted in criminal charges against workers caught on video abusing turkeys and engaging in sexual acts.
Not just that, the NGO that advocates for animal rights and stands against animal abuse, has urged people to reflect on their ‘choice’ while celebrating. Sharing and artwork of by an account that goes by the user id ‘freebison’, where a bunch of turkeys are see siting around a table as a roasted human shaped body takes the centreplace on the dinner table, PETA wrote, “We’re lucky turkeys would never do this to us—you don’t have to do it to them, either.”
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The resurfaced footage from Butterball's facility has sparked outrage, highlighting severe animal abuse. While Butterball claims the video is outdated and doesn't reflect current practices, it raises serious questions about animal welfare in the meat industry. This controversy urges consumers to rethink their choices and demand humane practices.
(Pic courtesy: Pexels -Representative image)