CANTON, Ohio -- A poultry slaughterhouse in Canton ranks No. 1 in the country for inhumanely handling and killing chickens, according to two national animal advocacy groups.

The Animal Welfare Institute and Farm Sanctuary reviewed government inspection records for the 300 poultry processing plants in the U.S. and found Case Farms Chicken had inhumanely handled more birds from December through April than any other poultry slaughterhouse. (See the records below.)

Nearly 50 birds were boiled alive, while dozens froze to death or suffered broken legs on their way to the plant from Case farms.

Nearly 40 birds were buried alive under dead birds in trash bins, and 20 chickens froze to death in cages in the plant's holding area.

Chickens were boiled alive, while others froze to death, at the Case Farms Chicken slaughterhouse in Canton.

The company, in a statement emailed Wednesday to The Plain Dealer, said, "Case Farms employees and growers share a committed responsibility to ensure the well-being and humane handling of all animals in our care. We share your concerns with the documented violations and have made every effort to eliminate all of these actions from continuing in our facility."

The company's "poultry welfare officers and veterinarian have developed a program of daily practices and procedures that enable the company to properly train and monitor associates in all areas throughout the life span of the chickens. These procedures are based on guidelines provided by the National Chicken Council as well as input from experts in the poultry field. "

Records show that Case Farms had several animal-handling problems, said Dena Jones, Farm Animal Program Manager for the Animal Welfare Institute.

"There were a high number of birds arriving dead or injured," she said, and birds –- hanging by their legs on a conveyor belt -- weren't being killed by stunning and throat-cutting processes before arriving at the scald tank.

These are some of the companies that buy chicken from Case Farms.

Case Farms, which produces more than 16 million pounds of ready-to-cook chicken a week, is the 13th largest poultry company in the country, according to WATT Poultry USA. Case operates four slaughterhouses in Ohio and North Carolina and sells chicken under numerous brand names.

The Animal Welfare Institute and Farm Sanctuary wrote in a letter sent last week to Case Farms: "Imagine being boiled alive, dehydrating to death in a trash bin of corpses, or freezing to death -- that is what your workers subjected these poor animals to. There is no difference between abusing a cat or a chicken, so we urge you to treat our concerns with the seriousness you would bring to the issue were the victims cats or dogs, instead of poultry.

"Specifically, we respectfully request that you work hard to ensure that no workers in your plant are throwing birds in the trash, boiling them alive, or otherwise abusing them, and that you have a plan in place for the coming cold weather. We also ask that you alert your staff and management to the fact that cruelty to poultry, even in a slaughterhouse setting, is a violation of both state law and industry good commercial practices," wrote Jones and Farm Sanctuary policy director Bruce Friedrich.

Case Farms did not specifically address any of the problems, but said in its statement, "Poultry is our business, and we strive daily to protect the birds in our care. Case Farms will continue to make it our moral responsibility to promote humane treatment through training and reinforcement of company and industry standards."

Jones said that with the harsh winter weather that has already impacted much of the country, her group is asking all poultry processors to prevent animal suffering.

"In most cases, slaughter plants know well in advance of approaching bad weather, and have adequate opportunity to take precautions to avoid unnecessary suffering. They can reschedule transportation during extreme cold, wrap cages or place panels across livestock trailers, minimize plant holding times and provide heat in holding areas.

"While it's true that the birds are destined for slaughter, freezing to death results in serious animal suffering, which is entirely preventable."