In AO’s words:

While working with the crew, our investigator documented numerous instances of Foster Farms employees running over chickens with forklifts and roughly throwing them into transport cages, and injured chickens were left to suffer instead of being euthanized. The cruelty was so pervasive that we couldn’t include all the footage in our release video. It wasn’t just the workers; managers and supervisors were also caught on camera kicking and throwing chickens. In many cases, chickens had their cage doors slammed closed on them, painfully trapping their wings, legs, or heads in the process.

The conditions were appalling. At some facilities, the chickens lived on the muddy ground in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees. Dead animals were discarded in piles infested with maggots, with live chickens standing on top. The combination of these harsh conditions, coupled with grueling overnight shifts lasting up to 18 hours, likely impaired the workers’ abilities, leading to even more suffering for the chickens. Even after a forklift crash, Foster Farms did not address the harm that forklift operation can and did cause countless animals. It’s clear that multibillion dollar corporation Foster Farms relies upon this cruel treatment of animals as a way of doing business.

Animal cruelty is a crime. So AO has presented the video and legal analysis to the Fresno County District Attorney’s office and is requesting criminal animal cruelty charges. On October 11, 2024, the Fresno Bee reported: “Fresno County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Tony Botti said detectives launched an investigation recently and it remains an ongoing case.”

Foster Farms also reportedly released a statement that, as a result of the LIC-sponsored investigation, Foster Farms had “‘implemented’” new animal-welfare procedures. These reportedly included companywide animal welfare training, creating a new chief animal welfare officer role and new animal welfare director roles, and “[i]ncreased” animal welfare audits and Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO) staff.

Stay tuned.