(AP) - An animal rights group has released undercover video showing chickens at California egg farms allegedly being mistreated by workers.
The Chicago-based nonprofit Mercy for Animals began circulating the footage as part of its campaign to promote a state ballot measure that would bar farms from confining hens and other animals in overly restrictive cages.
The hidden camera footage was taken by the organization's director -- Nathan Runkle. His video shows close-ups of chickens in two San Joaquin Valley facilities. The chickens appear to have open, infected sores and are crowded into metal cages holding rotting bird corpses.
They also show a worker stomping on a hen. The U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture says egg-laying hens and birds killed for meat consumption in the U.S. have no protections under federal animal welfare laws.
On the Net: http://www.mercyforanimals.org/caeggs/
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
