Hybrid Turkey 'reviewing' animal cruelty charges laid last month

Thursday, July 3, 2014

by SUSAN MANN
 
Turkey breeding company Hybrid Turkeys of Kitchener is reviewing the 11 Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals charges related an incident of alleged animal abuse earlier this year.

In a July 3 press release issued in response to the charges laid in June, the company says it has taken steps to enhance research and monitoring of its ethical and responsible treatment of turkeys in its care. But Helen Wojcinski, Hybrid manager of science and sustainability, declined to comment on the situation. “We have issued a press release and I really don’t have any more to add to it,” she says by email.

On Thursday, the OSPCA announced it laid 11 charges under the OSPCA Act against the company and five employees. “This investigation was conducted jointly with the Ontario Provincial Police in relation to suspected animal cruelty.”

The incident involved alleged animal abuse of a turkey while being euthanized that was caught on video by an animal rights activist from Mercy for Animals who posed as a job seeker and got a job as an egg gatherer. The video came to light in February but was shot sometime earlier in the winter. On its website, Mercy for Animals describes itself as a non-profit animal rights organization focused on promoting a vegetarian diet.

Via email Alison Cross, OSPCA director of marketing and communications, says the charges include one count of failing to provide care necessary for animals’ general welfare, one count of failing to provide adequate and appropriate medical attention, three counts of permitting distress, two counts of failing to kill an animal by a method that is humane and minimizes pain and distress, and four counts of causing distress by killing an animal in a manner that caused suffering.

The charges are “against the corporation as well as individuals,” she says. The first court appearance for the company and employees is Aug. 13 in Woodstock provincial offences court.

Hybrid Turkeys’ release says the charges apply to current and former employees. But Wojcinski didn’t answer questions about how many of the charged employees were no longer with the company and which ones still worked there.

During a telephone interview, Cross says they don’t name individual people when there are charges. But if there’s a conviction, they do name people.

As for whether there will be police charges too, Cross says “we have the same jurisdiction as the police when it comes to animal welfare legislation so there was no need for additional charges unless they chose to issue charges under legislation” that’s different than the OSPCA Act. The maximum fine and other penalties for convictions under the OSPCA Act are $60,000, a lifetime ban on owning an animal and up to two years in jail.

In response to the incident, Hybrid says in its July 3 press release it has completed comprehensive, independent audits of its facilities and policies and is implementing a pilot project to do video monitoring of euthanasia. In addition, it has initiated research into the care and welfare of its flocks.

“Hybrid Turkeys has taken decisive action to identify ways to improve all aspects of our flock care and welfare programs,” managing director David Libertini says in the Hybrid release. He notes that flock care has always been the company’s highest priority but “we nevertheless continue to strive for the highest possible standards.” BF