Following our undercover investigation which revealed cannibalism and horrific animal suffering at Mt Barker Free Range Chicken, the company has stated its plans to install live streaming video cameras and to build a new “public visitor center.”

In a recent email, the company stated:

“We have selected a site for a free-range farming center which will be equipped so that visitors can see an operational free-range chicken farm and ask questions. For bio-security and animal welfare reasons visitors won’t be able to go into the houses [sheds].  However live video screens at the center will give them a real-time insight… We hope to have this center operational by March of next year.”

We assume that this new farming center will show visitors an accurate display of a “free-range” broiler operation where premature death rates of at least 2,000 animals per each shed of 40,000 is an expected industry standard, where “stocking densities” of 18 chickens per square meter for indoor sheds is acceptable, and where the instructed method of “euthanasia” for chickens who can no longer walk involves wringing their necks or using a sharp fixed object to sever their spinal cords.

Since the location of this new visitor center is not being built where our investigation was filmed, there is suspicion as to whether it will present an accurate portrayal of all of the company’s farms. We also feel it’s fair to say that when people are expecting visitors, they clean up.

The goal of this investigation was to encourage consumers to question feel-good marketing labels like “free range” and "cage free" which are so often misleading. It’s shockingly clear from our undercover footage that animal welfare measures on free range farms are failing horribly. The plain truth is that when chickens are farmed by the tens of thousands, “free range” or not, that it is impossible to give attention to their individual needs. These are private businesses with a bottom line, and sadly profits will always trump animal suffering when each chicken's life is worth a meager 50 to 70 cents.

If you would like to take a stand against animal cruelties being marketed with misleading “happy” labels, click here to learn how. With so many delicious meat, egg, and dairy alternatives on the market, it’s now easier than ever to eat cruelty-free.