Butterball Turkey Faces Accusations of Turkey Abuse, Assault, and More
Butterball has been a household name for years when it comes to Thanksgiving, but these claims could change what they're known for.
Published Nov. 26 2024, 2:40 p.m. ET
Content warning: article contains graphic descriptions of animal abuse.
Fans of Butterball turkey products may want to think twice. Resurfaced videos of animal abuse taken from inside Butterball plants have caused many people to call for a boycott of the turkey provider, after footage showing the excessive mistreatment, abuse, and sexual assault of turkeys has once again gone viral.
The footage has left some planning to return the turkeys they've already purchased and prompted others to question whether or not Butterball turkeys would be recalled as a result.
Continue reading for more information about the videos, including some ideas for turkey alternatives for those looking for vegetarian or vegan meat options.
Are Butterball turkeys being recalled?
The last official recall of Butterball turkeys took place in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The company, Butterball, LLC, recalled their ground turkey products over concerns that it had come into contact with a foreign matter. The recall included 14,107 pounds of product that the company worried had been contaminated with blue plastic.
As of Nov. 26, 2024 there were no open Butterball turkey recalls on the USDA's website.
What's going on with Butterball turkey?
So, if there's no open recall then why are so many people talking about the product? Well, it's because of the resurfacing of footage from a 2006 undercover investigation when a volunteer from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) secretly went to work in an Ozark, Ark., facility from April to July 2006.
During that time, the investigator claims to have witnessed countless atrocities committed against the live turkeys in the plant, including sexual assault and torture.
According to a post made on PETA's website, the investigator bore witness to and heard secondhand accounts of these activities from workers, including one statement where an employee described some of the abuse. "If you jump on their stomachs right, they’ll pop … or their insides will come out of their [rectums]," an employee allegedly said.
According to the Daily Mail, the abuse didn't stop there. The investigator claims to have seen the sexual assault of multiple birds, including an instance where an employee put his finger into a turkey's cloaca, which is the reproductive equivalent of a vagina in birds.
In addition to the claims made by the investigator, there is also footage of some of the incidents, including video of workers striking birds, violently throwing them, and even hanging them.
There are plenty of plant-based alternatives that eliminate the need for animal agriculture.
Learning about the abuses against turkeys and other animal victims of agriculture farming, it's easy to understand why so many opt to go vegan or vegetarian, feasting on turkey alternatives like Tofurky, Field Roast, Vegetarian Plus' Whole Vegan Turkey, and more.
While resurfaced Butterball news is likely to push at least a few families into enjoying a plant-based turkey meal, it's unlikely that we'll see a Butterball recall as a result of this devastating information.
