———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle - kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Feb 5, 2008 7:47 PM
Subject: ACT/ Tyson Under Fire For Kill Floor Cruelty

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY - PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST AS WRITTEN

2/5/08: Tyson Under Fire For Kill Floor Cruelty
www.KinshipCircle.org

What most don’t know about farmed animals.

VIDEO: Video of workers abusing cows raises food safety questions

STORY: Video Reveals Violations of Laws, Abuse of Cows at Slaughterhouse

aburgess [at] recap.com writes: The more hits this video gets, the higher its placement on the page. You don’t have to view video to simply view the article and count your viewer-ship.

EMAIL kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net FOR WORD DOC OF A FORMATTED LETTER.
Easily modify letter and copy/paste it into an email or print out to fax or mail.

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FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows.

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TYSON FOODS

Gary Mickelson, Tyson Spokesperson
Tyson Foods, Inc.
2210 W. Oaklawn Dr. * Springdale, Arkansas 72762-6999
ph: 479-290-6111; email: gary.mickelson [at] tyson.com
SOURCE: www.tyson.com/Corporate/PressRoom/

John Tyson, Chair And CEO
Tyson Foods, Inc.
2210 W. Oaklawn Dr. * Springdale, Arkansas 72762-6999
corporate web mail: www.tyson.com/Corporate/Contact.aspx

Michelle Johns, Tyson Food Service Concierge
ph: 1-800-24-TYSON (1-800-248-9766)
email: michelle.johns [at] tyson.com
consumer web mail: www.tyson.com/FoodService/Contact.aspx

KFC CORPORATION (Customer of Tyson Foods)

KFC Corporate (for comments)
P.O. Box 725489 * Atlanta, GA 31139
Customer Satisfaction Numbers: (U.S.) 1-800-225-5532; (Canada) 1-866-664-5696
web mail: www.kfc.com/contact/default.asp
SOURCE: www.kfc.com/contact/default.asp

KFC Corporation
1441 Gardiner Lane * Louisville, Kentucky 40213
ph: 502-874-8300

Laurie Schalow, KFC Spokeswoman
ph: 502-874-8100; email: Laurie.Schalow [at] kfc.com

YUM! BRANDS, INC. (Owns KFC and other fast food chains)

David Novak, Chairman, President, and CEO
Yum! Brands * 1441 Gardiner Lane * Louisville, KY 40213
ph: 502-874-8300; fax: 502-874-8790

Peter Bassi, Chair, YUM! Restaurants International
14841 Dallas Parkway * Dallas TX, 75254

Yum! Brands Restaurant Support Center
1900 Colonel Sanders Lane * Louisville, KY 40213
ph: 502-874-8300
web mail: www.yum.com/contact/Checkage.asp
SOURCE: www.yum.com/

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SAMPLE LETTER — This letter is prepared to inform you about the issue.
Try to shorten and personalize your letter before sending.

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Ladies and Gentlemen:

I respectfully ask KFC, Yum! Brands and Tyson Foods, to do more to alleviate suffering for millions of chickens raised and slaughtered for human consumption.

Recent allegations depict gratuitous cruelty at Tyson slaughterhouses in Union City, Tennessee and Cumming, Georgia. This is not the first time animal abuse has been documented at a KFC supplier. A 2004 videotape exposed employees of Pilgrim’s Pride twisting off the heads of live chickens. At the Moorefield, West Virginia plant, workers spat tobacco into the birds’ eyes and mouths, spray-painted faces, and crushed them against walls.

A 2004/2005 investigation at a Heflin, Alabama Tyson slaughterhouse revealed more animal mistreatment. Now, 2007 footage of Tyson kill floors shows birds impaled, beaten, beheaded and violently thrust into shackles.

Supervisors at the Georgia and Tennessee facilities apparently engaged in abuse or were informed about it. One told a worker it was okay to tear off chickens’ heads who’d been clumsily shackled by their necks instead of legs. When birds died because their heads and legs became ensnared under a door at the end of a conveyer belt, a supervisor ignored the problem.

Most consumers would be appalled to know automated blades often slice birds’ bodies rather than throats. Yet a supervisor cognizant of these mutilations accepted them as a side effect of an imperfect machine. A worker confessed to bashing a chicken against a rail until he shattered the bird’s back. A back-up killer was observed knifing birds in their neck areas.

This is blatant violence. I call upon Tyson Foods to fire employees implicated in animal abuse. Please monitor all kills floors and hang areas
via video camera and employ your own undercover investigators to report cruelty. At the very least, Tyson, Yum! Brands and KFC ought to advocate “controlled-atmosphere killing,” a less agonizing mode of slaughter.

I urge Tyson to enforce animal protection guidelines and KFC to better supervise its suppliers. In fact, KFC and its owner Yum! Brands, should
require Tyson and other suppliers to crack down on cruelty.

Until measurable strides are taken to administer these improvements, I will ask friends, family and colleagues to not spend money on your companies.

Thank you,

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SOURCE OF INFORMATION FOR THIS LETTER CAMPAIGN

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Tyson Workers Caught Torturing Birds, Urinating on Slaughter Line
getactive.peta.org/campaign/tortured_by_tyson

PETA Investigative Footage Shot At Two Tyson Plants, Fall 2007
tinyurl.com/2n6hgj

PETA Investigative Video At Alabama Tyson Slaughterplant, 2005
tinyurl.com/3xtc9u

Tyson Probes PETA Claim
money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-22337347.htm

USDA Investigates Animal Abuse Claims At Tyson Plant
www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2008/01/17/chicken_0117.html

Additional research for contact information:
Bridget Soeder, Kinship Circle Research Director, galileao [at] aol.com
Sandra Nathan, Kinship Circle Subscriber, sandrazz [at] mchsi.com

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts kinship circle meat chicken chickens cows bovines factory farm factory farming livestock slaughterhouse animal abuse animal cruelty cruelty to animals tyson tyson foods tyson’s kcf kentucky fried chicken Yum! Brands Yum! Brands Inc. news in the news video