Article content continued

The group says the footage was taken by an undercover investigator who was hired as a farm worker by Ku-Ku Farms and Creekside Grove Farms for 10 weeks in May.

The video also shows dead hens rotting in the cages, and chicks being covered in feces.

Mercy For Animals Canada says Creekside Grove Farms provides chicks to Ku-Ku Farms near Edmonton. Ku-Ku then supplies eggs to Ontario-based Burnbrae Farms, the primary egg supplier to McDonald’s Canada.

McDonald’s, however, says while it does get eggs from Burnbrae along with many other Canadian companies, it says its eggs do not come from the farms referenced in the W5 story and that “we source no eggs from the province of Alberta.”

Photos on the Mercy For Animals Canada website indicate eggs in trays with packing labels that show the eggs come from Ku-Ku Farms and are destined for Burnbrae Farms.

While Perrais said the provocative video does not address the quality of the eggs or food safety, his organization is calling for McDonald’s to ban its egg suppliers from using hens that are confined in battery cages, which are barely bigger than the hens and prevent them from freely moving about.

A statement said McDonald’s said it does not condone animal abuse by its suppliers.

“We care about the humane treatment of animals and believe they should be free from cruelty, abuse and neglect,” said spokeswoman Karin Campbell in the written statement emailed to The Canadian Press.

“Abuse is never tolerated in our supply chain and McDonald’s has strict policies in place concerning the treatment of animals that our suppliers must adhere to at all times. We also work with our suppliers and outside experts to continuously improve our standards and practices, both within McDonald’s and across the industry.”