“The truckers worked fast, slamming the crates of birds down onto the pavement, without any regard for the welfare of the birds,” Grillo noted, further explaining that the young chickens were transported by a Middlebury truck into a detached, two-car garage, about 50ft. from the main facility. “The truckers stacked several crates of birds on top of one another, each crate packed tightly with approximately 50 or more birds.”
The heartbreaking investigation at the Chicago slaughterhouse also uncovered that the birds showed clear signs of suffering, some with splayed legs forced to squat in their own waste, while others flapped their wings continuously in a desperate attempt to be ambulatory. Still, according to Grillo, many of the chicks were responsive and peered meekly out at him as the putrid smell of waste hit him from more than 200 feet away.
The investigation documented that no members of the Aden Poultry Slaughterhouse staff were present during the delivery of the birds, who were presumably housed in this garage overnight, in violation of food code rules.
Free from Harm is urging people to help stop the unlawful operation of this slaughterhouse, which violates multiple city health department rules, by calling the Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady at (312) 747-9870. Please leave a message about the appalling situation at Aden Poultry Slaughterhouse, which should be permanently shut down. Please follow up with an email to allison.arwady@cityofchicago.org.
Please remember that the best way to end the suffering of chickens and other farm animals is to simply leave them off your plate.
