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Students Stick Up for Abused Chickens
Students Stick Up for Abused Chickens
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First page of the letter. |
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Second page of the letter. |
It’s an open-and-shut case for Ryan Donahue’s class
at Warner STAR Elementary School in Los Angeles. The workers
at a Pilgrim’s Pride slaughterhouse in Moorefield, West
Virginia, who were caught on tape kicking, stomping, and spitting
on chickens should be held accountable for their actions.
The children said as much in two letters that they sent to
West Virginia Governor Bob Wise and Prosecuting Attorneys
Institute Acting Director Ginny Conley. “We are concerned
by your choice not to prosecute the people who were mean to
chickens at Pilgrims Pride Corp. We love chickens …
we never would want anyone to be mean to them … ever!
If people don’t follow the rules, they should get in
trouble,” state the letters, which were written on oversized
paper and signed by 90 students.
Veterinarians and animal science professionals, including Dr.
Temple Grandin—widely recognized as the animal-husbandry
industry’s leading farmed-animal welfare expert—universally
condemned the abuse. Dr. Grandin, who has toured poultry facilities
all over the world, said that the video showed “the worst
employee behavior I have ever seen in a poultry plant.”
Dan Rather echoed the views of many when he said, on The
CBS Evening News, that “there’s no mistaking
what [the video] depicts: cruelty to animals, chickens horribly
mistreated before they’re slaughtered for a fast-food
chain.”
Empowering students to make a positive difference in the
world is what humane education and service learning is all
about. TeachKind recognizes Ryan Donahue and his students
for their valuable efforts to create a more kind, just, and
humane world for animals.
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Students signing the letter. |
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Students signing the letter. |
You Can Help!
- Learn
more about the investigation, and watch
the undercover video footage. Please be warned that the
video footage contains disturbing acts of violence toward
animals and is only appropriate for mature audiences.
- Use TeachKind's free age-appropriate
lesson plans and materials
to teach your students about the treatment and amazing abilities of farmed animals.
- Please contact the prosecutor who decided not to file charges
in this case and respectfully ask that she reconsider and file felony cruelty-to-animals
charges against all those responsible for the torture of chickens at Pilgrim's Pride in
Moorefield, West Virginia:
Ginny Conley, Acting Executive Director
West Virginia Prosecuting Attorneys Institute
90 MacCorkle Ave. S.W., Ste. 202
South Charleston, WV 25303
304-558-3348
304-558-3360 (fax)
- Please also contact the governor and governor-elect of West
Virginia to politely ask that they use their full authority to ensure that a special
prosecutor is appointed, as requested by the judge in the case:
Governor Bob Wise
Governor-Elect Joe Manchin
Office of the Governor
State Capitol Complex
1900 Kanawha Blvd. E.
Charleston, WV 25305
304-558-2000 (outside West Virginia)
1-888-438-2731 (within West Virginia)
304-558-2722 (fax)
Governor@WVGov.org
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