Earlier today, Mercy For Animals filed a false advertising complaint with the California attorney general against Foster Farms and American Humane Association for torturing animals and lying to the public about it.





The complaint comes on the heels of an announcement by the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office that criminal animal cruelty charges were filed against Foster Farms employee Gabriel Cevallos, who was caught on hidden camera ripping out fistfuls of feathers from live birds, repeatedly hitting a bird with a severed chicken leg, and tossing live birds around as if they were basketballs.





Cevallos was charged with violating California’s animal cruelty laws after an MFA undercover investigation of several Foster Farms facilities showed multiple Foster Farms workers throwing baby chicks onto the ground with no regard for their welfare and punching, beating, and torturing birds before violently slamming them into shackles. MFA also uncovered evidence of birds scalded alive in hot water feather-removal tanks.





Watch the footage that led to the charges here:





Despite clear evidence of ongoing and malicious animal abuse at multiple Foster Farms facilities, AHA continues to award the poultry company its “American Humane Certified” seal of approval. MFA is asking the attorney general’s office to take action against Foster Farms and AHA by prohibiting use of the meaningless American Humane Certified logo on Foster Farms chicken products.





AHA “standards,” which cover more than 1 billion animals, fall far below those of virtually every other humane certification program and barely exceed even the minimal standards set by the factory farming industry itself. According to Consumer Reports , AHA’s program “does not require certain standards that consumers are likely to expect from a welfare label, and producers can be certified without fulfilling 100% of the requirements.” In addition to Foster Farms, AHA has certified some of the cruelest factory farms in North America, including Butterball and Hillandale Farms, which have also been caught on video abusing animals.





American Humane Certified producers like Foster Farms are permitted to cram hundreds of thousands of birds inside dark, windowless sheds with no access to sunlight or outdoor space for their entire lives. AHA standards allow factory farms to mutilate animals without painkillers, including burning off the tips of birds’ sensitive beaks. Despite endorsing less cruel systems in 2010, AHA also continues to allow Foster Farms and other producers to slaughter chickens using outdated systems that dump, shackle, shock, and slit the throats of conscious animals. Birds subjected to such killing systems routinely endure physical violence from workers who throw, kick, and punch them.





Please take action by signing our petition urging AHA and Foster Farms to implement meaningful animal welfare policies at once.





Vegetarian Starter Guide. Remember, the best way to prevent needless cruelty to these birds and other farmed animals is to leave meat, eggs, and dairy off our plates. Visit ChooseVeg.com to order a copy of our free



