041023 Activists Pursue Cruelty Charges Against PerdueOctober 29, 2004Annapolis, MD - An animal advocacy group wants prosecutors to press animal cruelty charges against Perdue Farms Inc., after an activist secretly videotaped chickens flapping wildly after their throats were slit on a processing line. The activist worked from Sept. 16 to Oct. 1 at a processing plant in Showell, a complex that Perdue is closing next week to streamline operations. The animal rights group filed a complaint this week with the local sheriff and state's attorney's office. The seven-minute videotape shows piles of live chickens being shoved and thrown down a processing line. They are shown hanging upside down as their throats are slit. Afterward, the cut birds flap wildly. "From the very first day our investigator worked, he saw animal cruelty on a regular basis," said Paul Shapiro, campaigns director for the nonprofit Compassion Over Killing.
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