Butterball defends the practice after a disturbing old video of turkeys goes viral

On By Littum

Warning: This article contains disturbing details about alleged animal abuse.

People on social media are calling for a boycott of Butterball brand turkeys ahead of Thanksgiving after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals resurfaced an old video, causing confusion and disruption.

The video, posted on PETA’s Instagram account last week, highlighted disturbing allegations from an investigation at a Butterball factory that allegedly took place nearly 20 years ago.

According to PETA’s website, the 2006 “undercover investigation” that allegedly took place at a Butterball slaughterhouse in Ozark, Arkansas found workers physically and sexually abusing live turkeys.

However, Butterball said those allegations occurred before the company was privatized and certified by American Humane.

The resurfaced video focuses on the alleged sexual abuse of the live turkeys.

The caption on the video reads: “Do you know what happened to your Butterball turkey before they were killed?” However, PETA did not specify that the content was from 18 years ago.

Still, a majority of the comments are calling for people to boycott Butterball ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Videos of other people on social media discussing PETA’s post have created confusion that there is a recall associated with it, but there are currently no active recalls for Butterball turkeys.

Scripps News reached out to Butterball and its spokesperson provided the following statement:

“We are aware of a video from nearly 20 years ago that is being re-shared across social media. This video is not current and was recorded before Butterball became a private company and prior to our commitment and certification through American Humane. Animal care and well-being is central to who we are as a company, and we are committed to the ethical and responsible care of our flocks.Eleven years ago, Butterball was the first, and continues to be, This means we have annual third-party audits to ensure adherence to our more than 200 scientific standards for best practice for turkeys, we are proud of this designation, which no other turkey company can claim, and have a zero-tolerance policy for animal cruelty.”