It’s not just Butterball: Sexual abuse of animals is widespread in the farming industry. Turkeys and pigs raised for their flesh and cows used for their milk are all sexually abused by workers. See what our undercover investigators have documented and how you can make a difference for animals.

Turkeys Sexually Abused at Butterball and Plainville Farms

When PETA’s undercover footage of workers mimicking sex acts and beating turkeys at Butterball resurfaced, the company claimed that the footage was no longer relevant since it had become accredited by American Humane—but accreditations like this are just humane-washing schemes. The true purpose of these bogus certifications is to hoodwink the public into paying more for the same cruelty. Accreditations mean nothing to the animals who still face extreme suffering.

Does this seem humane?

Plainville Farms was certified by the Global Animal Partnership when PETA’s investigator documented the following:

Workers attacked birds to instill fear, vent their frustration, or relieve their boredom.

A worker picked up a turkey with a neck injury and put her between his legs. Holding her by her injured neck, he mimicked masturbation, then dropped her on the floor, kicked her, and left her to die. A few nights later, the same worker put another hen between his legs and thrust his pelvis back and forth.

Even after PETA investigations revealed abuse on 12 “animal welfare certified” farms—leading to 141 charges of criminal cruelty to animals being filed against a dozen now-former Plainville Farms workers and numerous convictions—representatives of the Humane Society of the United States, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), and Compassion in World Farming still sit on Global Animal Partnership’s board of directors.

Workers Sexually Assaulted and Beat Pigs at a Hormel Supplier

For more than three months, PETA went undercover on an Iowa pig factory farm, which supplied piglets who were raised and killed for Hormel products. Our investigators found rampant cruelty to animals committed by workers and supervisors.

The following are just some of the abuses that were documented:

A supervisor shoved a cane into a sow’s vagina, struck her on the back about 17 times, and then struck another sow.

A supervisor kicked a young pig in the face, abdomen, and genitals to make her move and told one of PETA’s investigators, “You gotta beat on the bitch. Make her cry.”

A worker hit a young pig in the face four times with the edge of a herding board, and investigators witnessed dozens of similar incidents involving this worker and 11 other ones.

Two men, including a supervisor, were witnessed jabbing clothespins into pigs’ faces. A supervisor also poked two animals in the eyes with his fingers.

“When I get pissed or get hurt or the fucking bitch won’t move, I grab one of those rods and I jam it in her asshole.”

All Cow’s Milk Is a Product of Sexual Assault

Female cows produce milk only when they’re pregnant or nursing. They make milk for the same reason humans do—to feed their babies. In the dairy industry, workers forcibly restrain and artificially inseminate female cows by thrusting their hands inside them so that they can create milk, cheese, and other dairy products—no matter if they’re labeled “organic,” “raw,” “antibiotic-free,” “humane,” or anything else. Cows often bellow and try to escape, but they’re held fast, sometimes with a “twitch,” a cruel means of causing pain to their nostrils in order to make them afraid to move.

The bond between mother cow and calf is strong, but baby cows are often separated from their mothers just hours after birth on dairy farms. Mother cows have been known to try hiding their babies and often frantically chase after and call for them after they’ve been taken.

Every Animal Is Someone: Go Vegan for Them

The meat, egg, and dairy industries are built on the subjugation and exploitation of female animals. Every animal is someone. We can all feel pain and fear and experience love and joy. We’re all the same in the ways that matter most.

All of us can help end abuse like what was shown in the Butterball footage by going vegan and taking action against humane-washing schemes.

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