Butterball, a major turkey producer in the United States, is facing a major backlash and boycott before Thanksgiving this year after an undercover footage resurfaced by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on its profile of socialization. The nearly 20-year-old video (captured in 2006) shows disturbing accounts of turkeys being subjected to sexual violence and cruelty at Butterball’s Ozark, Arkansas facility. Resurfaced video accuses Butterball employees of sexually abusing turkeys — and it’s causing a stir online.
Posting the graphic video on their social media handle, PETA asked: “Was the ‘Thanksgiving turkey’ sitting in the middle of the dining room table a victim of sexual assault?” An anonymous PETA investigator claims to have witnessed turkeys sexually abusing workers at the facility. According to the investigator, the workers “brag about the abuse”. The disturbing footage also shows employees kicking and stomping on the turkeys, with others bragging about how they hit the bird so hard that its eyeballs popped out.
The PETA investigator documented several cruelties the turkeys endured between April and July 2006.
The investigator’s statement on PETA’s website read: “One frustrated worker kicked a bird in the head and another snapped a bird’s neck so that its head was touching its back. He laughed about it. Another worker was shackling the birds.”

Netizen’s Opinion:

In the video in question, an unidentified person accuses Butterball workers of sexually abusing animals that Butterball slaughtered and sold to the public. Commenters on the post were quick to share their concern for the turkeys. One of them asked the vital question, “What can be done about it?”
User X wrote: “Ummm. I’m not sure what to make of this. We have a ball of butter in the freezer right now.” Another wrote: “I’ve never been more thankful I didn’t buy butterball this year.” Someone else wrote: “Someone please tell me this is a lie. Butterball is the only damn turkey we ever buy’, while another person wrote: ‘So now we need a new label the way the tone is…THIS COURSE HAS NOT BEEN ABUSED…Omg! “
One user X commented: “I just bought a Butterball turkey today but I’m returning it,” while another warned: “You better not eat a Butterball turkey this year.”

What really happened?

In the July 13, 2006 statement, the PETA investigator reveals, “One worker grabbed a bird by its legs and jerked it back and forth toward another worker to tease it—the second worker grabbed it and punched it to push it back. Later, another worker grabbed the head of a live turkey coming through the coop, twisted the bird’s head and handed it to another worker, who pulled the head while the first worker punched and kicked them in the neck. They tried to behead her.”
In the graphic video, the undercover investigator said a worker allegedly “humped” a turkey while it was restrained: “One worker violently threw birds into shackles and grabbed one by the neck, and another worker crouched a bird whose legs and head had become enmeshed in the chain.”

Another eyewitness account says workers are sexually abusing the bird: “A worker was inserting his finger into a turkey’s vagina (cloaca) for ‘fun’ during a break when the line was stopped. Another worker said he could paralyze the birds by punching them in the neck in a certain way and demonstrated this on a bird.”
A spokesperson for Butterball, in a statement to The Independent, said they were “aware of a video from almost 20 years ago that is being re-shared on social media”. The spokesperson added that this video is “not current and in no way reflective” of their animal welfare policies. In the statement, the spokesperson also stated that the care and welfare of animals is central to their company and that they are committed to ethically and responsibly caring for their herds. The spokesperson also said that “maintaining the health and welfare of turkeys is an ongoing effort.”