Animal Law Podcast #83: The Case of the Slaughtered Chickens

On this episode I will be talking, once again, to Kelsey Eberly, who is now with Harvard Law School’s Animals, Law and Policy Program, as well as with Dena Jones of the Animal Welfare Institute about the deeply troubling topic of chicken slaughter. Specifically, we will be discussing Animal Welfare Institute v Vilsack, a case involving the rather confusing landscape of exactly what rules govern the slaughter of chickens pursuant to the Poultry Products Inspection Act, whether any of them reduce the suffering of the birds, how and why this relates to food “adulteration,” and how those rules, to the extent they exist, are enforced. As you can imagine, there is not much clarity, and considerable lack of transparency, around these issues, in spite of the fact that we are talking about the deaths of billions and billions of animals. It’s pretty unbelievable, but Kelsey and Dena attempt to help us get a clearer picture, as well as consider what can be done to make things at least a bit better.

Kelsey Eberly is a Legislative Policy Fellow at Harvard Law School's Animal Law and Policy Program.  Previously, she spent over seven years working with the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s litigation team, most recently as a Senior Staff Attorney. Kelsey is one of the country’s leading experts on so-called Agricultural Gag (“Ag-Gag”) laws—state laws that criminalize or punish whistleblowing and reporting on industrial farms and slaughterhouses. She has played a key role in the ongoing litigation campaign challenging such laws for violating the First Amendment. Kelsey is also a leading voice and litigator on the “humane-washing” of animal products—the pervasive use of misleading marketing and advertising to conceal products’ inhumane origins. Her work in this sphere has resulted in several companies changing their marketing and animal welfare practices.

Dena Jones is the director of the farm animal program at the Animal Welfare Institute. She is an expert in public policy related to farmed animal welfare with a total of more than 30 years’ experience at several state, national and international animal advocacy organizations. Her areas of expertise include farmed animal industry practices and legal protections, farmed animal welfare marketing claims, and public attitudes towards animals and the use of animals for food.

View the full episode with resources here: https://ourhenhouse.org/ALP83/ The Animal Law Podcast is released by the nonprofit organization, Our Hen House. Share your thoughts with us on social media! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@ourhenhouse).