An animal rights group is claiming that fried chicken chain Chick-fil-A buys poultry from a company that abuses chicken. Mercy For Animals released secretly recorded footage (shot between January and April) of activities at a chicken factory farm in Mississippi and slaughterhouse in Tennessee. According to WXIA, the farm and slaughterhouse are owned by Chicago-based supplier Koch Foods, which is one of the suppliers of chickens for Chick-fil-A. The disturbing video shows chickens being kicked, thrown, slammed into crates, and having their throats sliced open while still alive.
Chik-fil-A is adamant that it has not purchased any chickens from Koch Foods since April of 2013. The chain's Vice President of Public Relations Carrie Kurlander emailed a statement to the news station defending the chain: "We strictly partner with suppliers who share in our goal of responsible environmental stewardship, and maintain our values throughout all animal welfare and management practice."
CBS notes that Mercy For Animals says that they can "prove otherwise." Apparently the animals rights group has "audio recordings, and video recordings documenting that these facilities did supply... [and still] do supply Chick-Fil-A." For now, it might be smarter to avoid all those chicken and waffles and just stick to the chain's iced coffee which uses "socially responsible" beans.