Former McDonald's chicken supplier charged with animal cruelty

Hadley Malcolm | USA TODAY

A former McDonald's chicken supplier in Tennessee has been charged with animal cruelty, according to court documents filed Thursday.

McDonald's cut ties with the farm, T&S Poultry, last month after undercover video shot by an animal rights group was released showing employees severely abusing chickens and clubbing them to death.

Charges were filed in Weakley County, Tenn., against farm operators Thomas Blassingame and Susan Blassingame. The documents say that between July 28 and August 23, the two "knowingly tortured and maimed some of the chickens by stabbing them with a large spike attached to a pole and failing to promptly and properly euthanize the chickens."

The farm contracted with Tyson Foods, one of the main suppliers of chicken for McDonald's. Tyson Foods said after the video came out in August that it was terminating its contract with the farm.

Mercy for Animals, the group that shot the video, is once again calling on McDonald's and Tyson's to enforce stricter animal welfare policies, and in particular end the practice of selective breeding throughout the supply chain, whereby chickens are grown abnormally fast and large in preparation for slaughter.

"Generally, the treatment of chickens used for meat in this country is absolutely horrifying," says Vandhana Bala, general counsel for Mercy for Animals. "We’re calling on McDonald's in particular because they are one of the world's largest fast food chains. They have the power and ethical responsiblity to end some of the worst abuses in their supply chain."

McDonald's has not responded to a request for comment. The fast food chain took a major step toward improving its supply chain when it announced Wednesday that by 2025, it will only use eggs from chickens not confined by cages. Currently about 13 million of the more than 2 billion eggs McDonald's buys annually in the U.S. and Canada are cage-free.

Bala says Mercy for Animals wants McDonald's to extend that thinking on the humane treatment of animals to include broiler chickens used for meat, not just egg-laying hens.

Follow Hadley Malcolm on Twitter @hadleypdxdc.