Bernard Matthews Workers in Turkey Baseball Shocker

[Rambuchan]

Here's a shocking piece of news from Britain's food industry.

Inquiry call after turkey cruelty

An animal welfare group has called for a government inquiry after two poultry workers were given community service after being filmed beating turkeys.

Norwich magistrates were told that Daniel Palmer, 27, and Neil Allan, 30, both from Dereham, Norfolk, used poles "like baseball bats" to hit the birds. Both men admitted causing cruelty on 21 April this year at Bernard Matthews' Beck Farm in Felthorpe, near Norwich. The Hillside Animal Sanctuary called for a probe into the poultry industry.

The solicitor defending Palmer and Allan, Simon Nicholls, described the conditions in the unit as "appalling" and said: "You can see why people move to an organic, more open type of farming." He added: "You can imagine working in that kind of environment on a long-term basis. It must be really quite awful."

'Hideous actions'

Mr Nicholls also said the pair - who no longer work for Bernard Matthews - were influenced by "peer pressure" and part of a "culture" at the plant.

A member of staff from Hillside secretly filmed the pair after sneaking into the unit because concerns had been raised about the welfare of birds. At Norwich magistrates court, Allan said he was suffering from stress and saw it as a form of anger release. Palmer said he was ashamed.

Jonathan Eales, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, told magistrates that Palmer and Allen were both employed on contracts to work as turkey catchers.

Mr Eales said investigators who filmed them heard Allen say "you throw them, I'll hit them". He said: "They were using poles which they had been using to help round up the turkeys and these were used like a baseball bat. (A vet) who saw the tape described the abuse as the most hideous and blatant actions he had seen."

Wendy Valentine, founder of the Hillside Animal Sanctuary, based near Norwich, said she would like to see a Government minister order an inquiry into the industry.

Bernard Matthews said in a statement: "We fully supported the RSPCA's decision to prosecute two people employed by a sub-contractor following the horrific incident of bird cruelty in April."

The pair were each ordered to complete a 200-hour community order.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/norfolk/5324320.stm

 

[Jawz II]

what the hell is wrong with people?

i read a similar story, but that was chickens in america. jesus christ some people are really pissed about having crap jobs i guess. maybe thats what makes you a sadist, having a bad job.

all those S/M mistresses probably worked years in factories putting cans in boxes or something before they bought latex outfits and put a "mistress" before their names.

 

[PrinceOfLeigh]

It's bloody awful but unfortunately not very shocking. There are numerous cases of animal cruelty especially in such 'factories'. RSPCA needs more funding to gather evidence if the Police aren't going to bother their arse.

 

[bathsheba666]

Is this what's known as 'putting the bootiful in'.

 

[GinandTonic]

It's bloody awful but unfortunately not very shocking. There are numerous cases of animal cruelty especially in such 'factories'. RSPCA needs more funding to gather evidence if the Police aren't going to bother their arse.

Animal cruilty is handled by the rspca. Police cannt prosicute cruilty in a strange legal anomily, though could prob bust them on environmental health grounds.

These fellas must have been round the twister to do this though

Sorry, I'll get my coat...

 

[PrinceOfLeigh]

Animal cruilty is handled by the rspca. Police cannt prosicute cruilty in a strange legal anomily, though could prob bust them on environmental health grounds.

These fellas must have been round the twister to do this though

Sorry, I'll get my coat...

I wasn't aware of that. I thought that the RSPCA merely passed the evidence onto the Police who then passed it to the CPS. So any cruelty investigation is carried out by the RSPCA? Do they get funding for this or are they a complete charity?

 

[GinandTonic]

I wasn't aware of that. I thought that the RSPCA merely passed the evidence onto the Police who then passed it to the CPS. So any cruelty investigation is carried out by the RSPCA? Do they get funding for this or are they a complete charity?

As I understand it they prosicute themselves, hence the complaints that people are victimised and the normal cps public interest counter-ballance is absent. AFAIK they are still a puckka charity but with a formal role - kind of like the RNLI.

Not really something I know that much about

 

[Masquerouge]

So turkeys, mass-raised in an animal factory to be slaughtered, have been brutalized. I can't say I'm shocked.
I also have to say I find it very hypocritical to condemn these two men. As long as a majority of us will want their food as cheap as possible, we'll have animal factories, and in these places you simply can not expect the animals to be well-treated.
"Oh no, please, do not beat these poor turkeys before slaughtering them! I like my meat tender"... yeah right.

 

[Urederra]

"Oh no, please, do not beat these poor turkeys before slaughtering them! I like my meat tender"... yeah right.

The meat might be more tender if you beat it. That is the secret for cooking tender octopus. but of course, it is done 'after' slaughtering them.

And I also would trade low price for quality.

I agree with the rest of your post, though.

 

[Jawz II]

So turkeys, mass-raised in an animal factory to be slaughtered, have been brutalized. I can't say I'm shocked.
I also have to say I find it very hypocritical to condemn these two men. As long as a majority of us will want their food as cheap as possible, we'll have animal factories, and in these places you simply can not expect the animals to be well-treated.
"Oh no, please, do not beat these poor turkeys before slaughtering them! I like my meat tender"... yeah right.

yeah we eat them, dosent mean we have to torture them befre dose it?

look at nature, animals eat each other all the time, but never do they mess with each other just for fun. theyre too smart for that i guess.

 

[Urederra]

Cats do, I think.

 

[Sidhe]

Cats do, I think.

In the case of cats it has a practical application, a cat will play with it's food to train itself, just as humans play with a soccer ball to practice motor skills, mothers will bring back stunned animals and allow kittens to play with them, it may look cruel but as with all behavioural evolution there is a good reason behind it, although it may not be apparent at face value.

This is pretty sad, but I would suspect that it goes on alot, there is no reason I can see to condone it though, if this happened to a horse or a dog I bet there'd be more of an outcry, but because they are food it's more acceptable Masquerouge? Why?

 

[Taliesin]

This is pretty sad, but I would suspect that it goes on alot, there is no reason I can see to condone it though, if this happened to a horse or a dog I bet there'd be more of an outcry, but because they are food it's more acceptable Masquerouge? Why?

Who says horse isn't food?

 

[PrinceOfLeigh]

So turkeys, mass-raised in an animal factory to be slaughtered, have been brutalized. I can't say I'm shocked.
I also have to say I find it very hypocritical to condemn these two men. As long as a majority of us will want their food as cheap as possible, we'll have animal factories, and in these places you simply can not expect the animals to be well-treated.
"Oh no, please, do not beat these poor turkeys before slaughtering them! I like my meat tender"... yeah right.

A bit off target if you ask me. We're not talking about humanely killing the animals for food. We not even talking about animals which have been kept in poor conditions to lower the cost of our food. We're talking about people who willingly abused animals for the sake of ****s and giggles.

The fact that the animals were going to be slaughtered later doesn't justify cruelty of this type and magnitude.