McDonald’s, Tyson cut ties with West Tenn. chicken farm

A West Tennessee poultry farm that up until earlier this week had provided chicken to McDonald’s and Tyson Foods is no longer affiliated with the companies after a video that appears to show workers beating chickens to death was released by an animal rights group.

T&S Farm, owned by Thomas and Susan Blassingame and located in Dukedom in Weakley County, was the subject of an undercover video shot by a Mercy for Animals employee.

The graphic video appears to show workers pounding the birds using a pole with a metal spike attached on the end, and shows a worker stepping on the neck of a chicken and pulling its body to break its neck. In the video you can hear an employee say, “Are you from PETA?”

The Jackson Sun reached out to the number listed on the report for the Blassingames, but they did not return calls seeking comment.

According to Matt Rice, director of investigations at Mercy for Animals, the undercover employee gained access to T&S Farm by being hired on and working there for several weeks. Rice said the two individuals in the video were the owners, but did not name them.

Rice told The Jackson Sun the organization has done over 40 undercover videos like the one recorded at T&S Farm to raise awareness of animal cruelty.

“These facilities will behave one way when they know they’re being watched and another when they’re not being watched,” Rice said. “That’s why we do it. It’s a truer picture of how they operate.”

Rice said Tyson Foods picked up the birds and took them to the Union City Tyson Foods slaughter plant, where some were used for McDonald’s chicken McNuggets.

Tyson’s spokesman Worth Sparkman said the company was investigating the video, but “based on what we currently know, we are terminating the farmer’s contract to grow chickens for us.”

“We’re committed to animal well-being but don’t believe this video accurately depicts the treatment of chickens by the thousands of farmers who supply us,” Sparkman said in a statement.

McDonald’s said in a statement that the activity depicted in the video was “unacceptable” and expressed support for Tyson’s decision to end the relationship with the supplier.

“We’re working with Tyson Foods to further investigate this situation and reinforce our expectations around animal health and welfare at the farm level,” the McDonald’s statement said. “We’re committed to working with animal welfare and industry experts to inform our policies that promote better management, strong employee education and verification of practices.”

According to documents obtained by The Jackson Sun, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation reviewed the farm, which includes six barns and 120,000 chickens, in March and it passed inspection.

The inspection included looks at “operations and maintenance,” but “pretreatment” was not included in the inspection, according to documents.

The summary of the inspection stated, “Producer was keeping all required records. Facility was clean and well maintained.”

According to Eric Ward, deputy communications director for TDEC, the department deals with how waste is handled as it applies to water quality.

Marty Plunk, investigator with the Weakley County Sheriff’s Department, and Tommy Thomas, district attorney general for the 27th District, are investigating the evidence provided by Mercy for Animals, according to Plunk.