How to protect poultry operations from animal activists

Poultry companies must be aware of recent extreme measures taken by animal rights groups and how to protect their farms.

Animal rights activist groups have and will continue to go to extremes, doing almost anything in their power to end animal agriculture.

In spite of the industry’s commitment to animal welfare, these extremist groups view the agriculture industry as “speciest” if they do not share their same views that animals should have the same rights as humans – and that is a big difference – according to Hannah Thompson-Weeman of the Animal Agriculture Alliance, speaking on October 10 at the Delmarva Poultry Industry’s 2018 National Conference on Poultry Health, Processing and Live Production.

“Really, there are no bigger advocates for animal welfare in the world than farmers and ranchers … who have dedicated your careers and all of your time to helping farmers and ranchers consistently achieve results in terms of animal welfare,” she said, noting that even the highest animal welfare standards would not be acceptable to these activist groups.

Animal rights groups targets and goals

According to Thompson-Weeman, just 3 percent of the population are vegetarians, fewer are vegans and even fewer are vegan for animal rights reasons. Realizing that a complete “go-vegan” campaign is difficult to get the majority of people to completely accept, animal rights groups are targeting the misinformed or uninformed middle ground between those with knowledge of the agriculture industry and those extreme animal rights activists. She said this specifically includes not only consumers, but foodservice and retail customers, investors, media and policy makers.

“There are groups out there … their mission is to undermine the reputation of animal agriculture and have a negative impact on all of our ability to do business,” she said.

Despite that, some of these animal rights groups may seem different or less extreme from the outside in trying to recruit people to their cause. She emphasized that these organizations are all connected with this same mission of “trying to destroy animal agriculture,” according to a quote she cited from Wayne Hsiung, of activist group Direct Action Everywhere, from the 2016 National Animal Rights conference.

Current tactics used by animal rights group

Undercover employment/videos: As in the past, these activist groups continue to pay people to get hired on farms and capture photos and videos to use against those farms and against the animal agriculture industry as a whole. But if these undercover activists are witnessing harm to animals, the industry, as proponents of animal welfare, want to know if abuse or mishandling is happening in order to stop or correct the practices, yet these groups keep their video footage until it fits into one of their campaigns. In some cases, she said, there have been accusations that the undercover activists themselves are the ones causing the abuse to animals in order to further their goals.

Break-ins and theft: Some groups, such as Direct Action Everywhere, plan “stealth visits” to poultry farms, checking for unlocked doors to enter poultry houses or breaking in during the night with camera crews to try to capture video footage or steal animals in the barns.

Thompson-Weeman gave an example of a break in at an egg farm in California at the end of the last major avian influenza outbreak, in which animal rights activists’ actions resulted in the farm having to destroy a barn of birds over biosecurity concerns after the break-in. Other examples she gave of the types of footage these activist groups have recently filmed include recording chickens, who naturally flock to one side of the barn when someone enters, all on that one side, claiming the birds don’t have enough space in spite of the other half of the barn being empty due to this natural behavior; filming sick turkeys in the hospital pen receiving specialized treatment but claiming that represents the entire turkey farm; and even stealing a chicken from an eight-year-old girl who raised the bird herself in Colorado.

“It’s that misrepresentation to a public that doesn’t know that what they’re seeing is not accurate,” Thompson-Weeman said.

Protests and vigils: Other animal rights groups, like “The Save Movement,” try to promote their agenda by holding vigils outside slaughter houses to “bear witness to the animals going to slaughter,” she said. In doing so, activists try to get trucks to stop before entering the plant so that they can pet the animals and give them food and water prior to arrival. A new initiative, she said, is that this group is planning to hold protests at truck stops in order to connect with truck drivers about their mission, so that the drivers will be more willing to stop for the animal rights activists’ cause.

“Mass open rescues”: Another tactic recently employed by animal rights groups, specifically Direct Action Everywhere, is that of “mass open rescues,” Thompson-Weeman said. Using this approach, the group claimed they have the legal rights to open rescue birds on poultry farms, citing California legislation similar to that which allows for someone to break a window in a hot car if they see a dog suffering, claiming they “know” the chickens are suffering, too. A group of 500 activists in Sonoma County, California, held a three-hour event live streamed on Facebook at an egg farm, during which time a smaller group snuck into a barn to steal birds, citing this legal opinion written by a law professor at University of California, Berkley. Overwhelmed and unprepared, the local sheriffs allowed 40 chickens to be taken during the event. Using this same legal opinion, the group sent 200 people to a broiler operation in late September 2018 as part of its Animal Liberation Conference.

“I don’t mean to be alarmist here, but it really is something that a group of 200 activists could be bussed to one of the farms you work with to do one of these large-scale demonstrations – it really is something that’s happening,” she cautioned.

She warned that groups like Direct Action Everywhere continue to hold trainings around the country to perform more of these “mass open rescues.”

Restaurant/retail pressure: Thompson-Weeman said activist groups have aggressively focused on pressuring policy changes at restaurants and retail chains over the past several years.   

“They’ve realized that if they could get a McDonald’s or a Costco or a Walmart to make a policy for their supply chain, that’s a lot quicker and a lot further reaching than trying to get legislation passed in a variety of different states,” she said.

She said activist groups do this by approaching the retailer or restaurant nicely the first time, trying to persuade them to be “on the forefront” of certain issues. Then, if the retailer or restaurant does not cave the first time, activist groups shift their approach to being increasingly aggressive to pass their agenda.

Practical steps poultry producers can take

Poultry companies must be aware of recent extreme measures taken by animal rights groups and how to protect their poultry operations. Thompson-Weeman gave some tips for the industry on how to combat the actions of these activist groups, emphasizing that it starts on the farm. Companies need to work with producers on animal welfare and being a good neighbor.

“It is very clear that these groups are willing to lie, they’re willing to make things up; they’re willing to manipulate reality,” she said. “So we have to make sure we’re not giving them any ammunition that could be used against the industry.”

She advised companies to:

• Implement science-based animal care and environmental policies
• Seek advice from experts
• Strive for continuous improvement
• Implement a rigorous hiring process
• Train employees thoroughly and with refresher courses
• Conduct self audits
• Utilize third-party audits
• Proactively connect with local law enforcement
• Review security and biosecurity measures, including locks and cameras
• Carefully review all inquiries you receive
• Have visitor and crisis planning policies in place