On Thursday, millions of families will sit down for a dinner that, in general, centers around turkey. And in a sizable portion of those homes, Butterball will be the turkey they devour. But with just days remaining until Thanksgiving feasts, the poultry producer has found itself in the middle of a PR crisis from almost two decades ago when the company was under a previous owner.
On Friday, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) posted to its Instagram account a graphic Butterball turkey video it shot in 2006, which has since gone viral on social media and stirred up a maelstrom of protests.
The footage shows then-employees of the company abusing live turkeys at a plant in Ozark, Arkansas.
Butterball, in a statement, acknowledged the video, and said it did not reflect current conditions at its facilities. “This video is not current and was taken prior to Butterball becoming a private company and prior to our engagement and certification through American Humane,” said a Butterball spokesperson. “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.”
In 2013, Butterball became the first (and is still the only) turkey company to be American Humane-certified, the company said. It undergoes yearly third-party audits to verify it follows best practices in caring for the turkeys.
“We are proud of this designation that no other turkey company can claim and have a zero-tolerance policy for animal mistreatment,” the company said.
A company spokesperson was unable to recall how the company responded to the allegations when the Butterball turkey video first surfaced in 2006, as Butterball was then owned by ConAgra, and the company does not have access to any statements issued at that time.
Timing-wise, the rerelease of this video couldn’t have been worse for Butterball (or better for PETA). This is peak turkey-selling season, but as the video has spread, many people have called for a boycott, while others say they are returning the turkeys they’ve bought to stores.
Despite rumors on social media, however, there are no active recalls for any Butterball products.
PETA’s investigation
PETA, in 2006, sent a team undercover to work as “live hangers,” employees who receive live birds and shackle them for slaughter, at a ConAgra facility. While there, they surreptitiously filmed the abuses they saw.
In an interview at the time, Matt Prescott, who served as head of corporate affairs at PETA and made headlines in 2008 when he purchased a plot in the cemetery where Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Col. Harland Sanders is buried and erected a gravestone reading “KFC Tortures Birds,” said the group’s investigation “resulted in countless emails and phone calls from people interested in becoming vegetarian.”
PETA is often active around Thanksgiving, holding rallies and encouraging people to opt for vegan options over turkey. In 2022, it accused workers at another food processing company of abusing the birds, providing video to state law enforcement officials in Pennsylvania.
There is no indication that either of the videos have resulted in any legal action against the companies involved.
