Turkey horror video

Photo: Contributed

Undercover video taken at an Abbotsford slaughter house has prompted calls for change.

The gruesome footage from Mercy for Animals shows turkeys at a Lilydale slaughterhouse in Abbotsford being "tortured to death."

"You can see them struggle in pain, flinching in pain. Many of the birds were still fully conscious, blinking and vocalizing when their throats are slit open," Matt Rice, executive vice-president for Mercy For Animals, told reporters at a news conference in Vancouver.

"Many of the birds were too sick or injured to even walk, suffering from broken bones or wings."

Turkeys are shown being shackled upside down, dragged through an electrified bath before having their throats slit. In some cases, the blade misses. Instead, the birds die in vats of boiling water intended to remove the feathers.

"(It's) scalding their heads to death. Their eyes pop out of their head. It looks like a f***** horror movie," one of the workers tells an undercover infiltrator from the activist group.

Still, the methods used to kill the birds are industry standard.

"Turkeys are every bit as capable as experiencing pain and suffering as our beloved dogs and cats at home and they deserve the same protection from needless cruelty and violence," said Rice.

Sofina Foods, which owns Lilydale, said in a statement that the Abbotsford plant complies with industry practices and regulations.

"We collaborate with industry, regulatory and other experts continuously to enhance our practices," said the statement.

– with files from CTV Vancouver