Was Butterball the turkey sexually assaulted by workers?

The nearly 20-year-old claim that Butterball turkeys were sexually assaulted before being slaughtered and packaged for food circulated online in the days leading up to Thanksgiving in late November 2024.

plural video shared a claim on TikTok. One user answered saying “Why is this allowed!? I will NEVER buy a ball… ever again.” Another said: “How can there be people with such a heart?” Another user commented: “Literally just found out after I bought mine over the weekend.”

The claim arose out of an Instagram post from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The group shared a video of a 2006 Butterball Factory investigation in which an anonymous investigator claims, “One guy once crossed a chained turkey and another time, another worker was sticking his fingers into the turkey’s cloaca, which is actually its vagina, while the line was stopped.”

Sexual assault wasn’t the only allegation featured in the clip, but so was physical abuse, such as punching, kicking, breaking bones, dismembering limbs, crushing turkeys vehicles and more

A rep for Butterball told Snopes:

We are aware of a nearly 20-year-old video that is being re-circulated on social media. This video is not current and was taken before Butterball became a private company and before our involvement and certification through American Humane. Animal care and welfare are central to our company and we are committed to caring for our herds ethically and responsibly.

The spokesperson added Butterball was taken into private “around October 2006″ when Carolina Turkeys acquired Butterball from ConAgra Foods. Food industry B2B edition Just food it was reported at the time that the company “acquired more than 3,200 employees and five processing plants.”

PETA confirmed to Snopes that the clip was indeed the result of an undercover investigation in 2006, which was not disclosed in the Instagram post. PETA also said it did not conduct a more recent investigation into Butterball quote. Hnevertheless, mentioned group to Butterball investigations by other animal rights organizations like Mercy for Animals, and to PETA’s recent investigations into competing turkey companies like Plainville Farms. In the latest case, “a total of 139 charges were filed, including six counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and 76 counts of cruelty to animals,” according to the 2022 report Associated Press.

In 2011 a Butterball facility in North Carolina was raided by the Hoke County Sheriff’s Department after footage taken by Mercy for Animals evoked a response which led to the offence charges of animal cruelty against six employees and charges of obstruction of justice and obstruction of a police officer against a public servant.

Regarding sexual assault claims specifically, important part of the context is that PETA considers artificial insemination of turkeys, a widespread practice in the agricultural industry, to be sexual abuse. Amber Canavan, PETA’s project manager for vegan campaigns, told Snopes: “Chickens are held and syringes inserted into their cloaca, forcibly impregnating them. Males are also held and forcibly ejaculated. And that’s because these birds are still being bred to be so big that they can no longer mate.”

However, PETA claims that artificial insemination is not the only sexual abuse that has occurred in Butterball objects. Canavan said:

We have found that employees often take out their frustrations or try to impress them colleagues at work doing things with animals. And sometimes they are sexual, as we saw in the Plainville investigation and the Butterball investigation. We have seen it happens, unfortunately. It’s something the industry doesn’t like to see happen, and they’d like to think it doesn’t.

But unfortunately, organizations like PETA are putting themselves at great risk for our investigators to go in and document these violations. And if Butterball was sure it wasn’t happening anymore, there’s a reason they don’t have CCTV cameras or live broadcast at their slaughterhouses. We have been pushing for this for a long time – if they have nothing to hide and if they think the public will good with everything that happens inside.

Although PETA’s 2006 footage shows clear evidence of animal abuse by workers, it is too grainy to support the specific claims of sexual abuse made by the anonymous researcher.

After the raid on the Butterball facility in 2011, the company took steps to repair its image and received American Humane certification. A Butterball representative confirmed that the certification began in 2013 and said Snopes follows:

Eleven years ago, Butterball was the first and remains the only turkey company to be certified American Humane. This means we undergo annual third-party audits to ensure compliance with our more than 200 science-based best practice standards for turkey care, far exceeding industry best practice. We are proud of this designation, which no other turkey company can claim, and have a zero tolerance policy for animal cruelty.

Canavan called American Humane’s certification “bogus” and said that despite designation, the company still engaged in many standard industry practices that . . . would not meet a reasonable consumer’s expectation of humane treatment.”

In 2014 PETA filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for “humane laundering,” according to Canavan, hoping to do so influence the company’s ability to advertise its products as humanely raised.

Butterball website describes his commitment to animal welfare as follows:

At Butterball, we are committed to responsibly raising healthy, high-quality turkeys.

Simply put, animal care and welfare are key to our company and we are committed to supporting the health and welfare of our turkeys. Butterball maintains high standards of animal care and we have a strict zero tolerance policy for any form of animal cruelty.

Butterball adheres to all animal care guidelines established by American Humane and the National Turkey Federation and continually evaluates our policies, procedures and new technologies.

A spokesperson for American Humane echoed that sentiment to Snopes, saying:

Butterball has been certified by American Humane since 2013. The linked video is almost 20 years old and predates American Humane’s certification. American Humane Certified Farms participate in rigorous independent third-party audits. Our standards are based on the latest scientific research and evidence on animal welfare, as well as input from a Scientific Advisory Committee made up of respected experts in farm animal care and humane treatment.

According to the 2020 edition American Humane “Animal Welfare Standards for Turkey”, guidelines include statements such as “American Certified Humane Animal Welfare Standards for turkeys do not require birds to have outdoor access,” “birds must be lifted and then shackled by both legs,” “turkeys must not be hung for more than four minutes before they are stunned,” “no more than 10 seconds may elapse between stunning and slitting the neck,” and “turkeys must not be plunged into a scalding tank or plucked until at least 90 seconds have passed after the major blood vessels in their necks have been severed.”

We found no mention of sexual abuse or artificial insemination in the handbook, but the document breaks down how American Humane’s auditors rate their evaluations of facilities, including the following statement:

During the audit, the auditor must not observe farm personnel engaging in intentional acts of abuse or neglect, including, but not limited to, kicking, throwing, shouting, or intentionally scaring birds, or neglecting to provide feed, water, or health care.

When Snopes reached out to an FTC spokesperson about the 2014 complaint, the agency said complaints filed by the organization are not made public and the FTC does not comment. on the outcome of the complaint, if it does not lead to “enforceable actions”. No action was taken against Butterball its using the word “humane” in their advertising.

In the past, Snopes has investigated other animal welfare claims, including Calf Cruelty on an Indiana Farmand a bison calf that was put to sleep after being “rescued” by tourists from Yellowstone, cruelty to animals during the filming of the movie “The Adventures of Milo and Otis” and regardless of whether the Trump administration ended public access to puppy mill inspection reports.