Investigators observe the arrival of chicken trailers at the Pilgrim’s Pride slaughter plant in Mayfield, KY. Approximately every 15 minutes, a truck delivered chickens to the large plant.
After entering the plant, the trailers pulled into an open waiting area with fans along the sides. Despite temperatures of 80 degrees, only one fan was observed running. The transport trailers contained 3 rows of cages with 10 cages stacked on top of each other.
Many of the chickens observed had no feathers left on their rear end. Several birds showed signs of heat stress such as panting and open mouth breathing. Some legs, wings and necks were seen clearly caught between the cage bars. Dead birds were also observed.
One chicken escaped from a broken cage, fell on the road and was killed immediately by cars driving behind the trailer.