Big chicken in sights of factory farm activists, Md. senator

In the wake of one group's online video showing apparent mistreatment of chickens at an Accomack County farm, another activist organization is expecting supporters in Ocean City for a summit this weekend.

Additionally, Maryland State Sen. Richard Madaleno, D-Montgomery County, is set to announce plans to introduce air quality legislation aimed at large animal farms during the upcoming legislative session. His 12:45 p.m. Friday news conference will be at the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau in Ocean City.

The hotel was also the location of the Maryland Farm Bureau annual convention, which ended Tuesday. 

Socially Responsible Agricultural Project, a nonprofit advocacy organization, promoted Madaleno as one of its four-day conference highlights.

"Maryland’s Eastern Shore community members are on the front lines of experiencing the health, economic and environmental impacts of industrial poultry houses," a media advisory about Madaleno's announcement said.

The summit is "aimed at discussing the increasing threats that industrial animal operations pose on rural America," according to a news release from the group.

A Delmarva Poultry Industry email sent in advance of the Ocean City advocacy group's summit said the chicken industry on the Delmarva Peninsula accounts for about 70 percent of cash farm income in Delaware, 35 percent of cash farm income in Maryland and 22 percent of cash farm income in Virginia.

Additionally, the document noted that, while chicken production on Delmarva has increased through the years to meet rising consumer demand, the number of birds on Delmarva farms is actually fewer today than 20 years ago, resulting from increased efficiency on farms and in chicken processing plants.

"Delmarva’s poultry farmers are committed to providing excellent care for their birds," said spokesman James Fisher in the document.

The theme of the 2017 Factory Farm Summit is "Demanding Accountability in Animal Agriculture."

Another animal advocacy group, Compassion Over Killing, published on its website a nearly four minute-long video that appears to show Tyson Foods contractors inside a chickenhouse at a farm identified by the group as being in Temperanceville, Virginia.

In the video, chickens are shown being crushed after being run over by a forklift, while others are hit with sticks, and a worker is shown impaling a live chick with a metal nail at the end of a stick.

Warning: Graphic video below.

Tyson Foods officials responded to the video this week, saying the company was terminating its contract with the farmer and 10 employees of the contract chicken catching crew shown in the video had been fired.

“We’re outraged by what’s shown in this video. The actions of these people are egregious, inexcusable and will not be tolerated by Tyson Foods. It’s our responsibility to ensure that everyone who works for and raises animals for our company treats animals properly," said Doug Ramsey, group president of poultry for Tyson Foods.

BACKGROUND  'Hit him on the head, then kill him': Tyson Foods responds to mistreatment in video

The summit kicked off Thursday with a tour, visiting homes of people living next to factory farms, as well as an operation transitioning to a sustainable farm and a farm that produces meat and eggs for sale directly to local consumers, according to the schedule.

Last March, Madaleno described the legislation he sponsored in the last legislative session as having the goal of filling in information gaps on the impact of concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs.

"It’s about time we pay attention to the impacts industrial poultry operations are having on public health," he said then.

READ MORE: Madaleno says bill's goal to fill in gaps on the impact of CAFOs

“Some would argue that it is the job of the (Maryland Department of Environment) to monitor the emissions from these chickenhouses," Kathy Phillips, the Assateague Coastkeeper, said at the time. "Right now, they aren't."

Delmarva Poultry Industry's Fisher noted this week that the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s 2016 State of the Bays report included improved scores for nitrogen and phosphorus indicators compared to 2014. The report called the improvement an indication that “improvements in managing storm water runoff from farms, lawns, and roads may be having a positive impact.”

"While you’re unlikely to hear about that progress at the summit, the progress is real," he said.

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