Consumer protection complaint filed against American Humane alleges deceptive trade practices

CURRENT STATUS: (Active) Agency declined to pursue after cursory investigation. Animal Partisan continues to pursue enforcement.

May 1, 2023

Animal Partisan has filed an administrative complaint with the District of Columbia’s Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection urging the agency to investigate American Humane for deceptive trade practices in violation of D.C. law.

American Humane purports to “set the gold standard as the most visionary and effective animal welfare organization in the nation,” but for years, has turned a blind eye to the rampant abuse and neglect of chickens occuring at Foster Farms, a major poultry producer certified by American Humane for its animal welfare practices.

As alleged in the complaint, American Humane promotes Foster Farms chicken products online, claiming that the company “prioritize[s] animal welfare,” “improves the lives of farm animals everywhere,” “raise[s] their animals right,” and “elevate[s] standards for animals.” American Humane also assures consumers that it “verifies” that Foster Farms’ “animals were humanely raised” through audits and inspections associated with its “American Humane Certified” program.

But despite these assurances from American Humane, government records and undercover investigations reveal horrific abuse and neglect of chickens at multiple Foster Farms facilities. For instance, in 2021 and 2022, the United States Department of Agriculture cited Foster Farms for 18 separate incidents in which the company failed to abide by federal animal welfare laws. These incidents included drowning fully conscious chickens in vats of scalding water, allowing live chickens to suffocate in piles of dead chickens, throwing chickens forcefully to the ground, and allowing chickens to become trapped and mangled in machinery.

Undercover investigations have also revealed the horrors at Foster Farms despite American Humane’s promises that it is monitoring animal welfare practices. An investigation by Direct Action Everywhere at a Foster Farms slaughterhouse in California documented workers forcefully throwing chickens against shackles, leaving sick and injured birds to languish and suffer, piling live chickens in stacks of dead birds, and allowing chickens to enter the scald bath fully conscious.

A separate undercover investigation conducted by Animal Equality of a Foster Farms hatchery in California revealed equally egregious abuse and neglect. The investigation documented newborn chickens trapped and mangled in machines, injured chicks left to suffer without veterinary care or prompt euthanasia, chicks drowning after falling in pools of water on the ground, and being run through washing machines while trapped in trays.

In addition to the abuse documented in reports from government inspectors and multiple undercover investigations, Foster Farms’ failure to adequately manage its supply chain may have subjected millions of chickens to the risk of starvation. In 2022, Foster Farms became embroiled in a dispute with Union Pacific Railroad over delays in delivering grain needed to feed the chickens and hundreds of thousands of dairy cows owned by Foster Farms. Public records obtained by Animal Partisan suggest that the food shortages were dire, causing Foster Farms to begin starving the cows to conserve food and placing the chickens at risk for lack of food as well.

Yet despite all of these issues, American Humane—a supposed protector of animals—continues to stand by Foster Farms. On its website, American Humane makes statements intended to induce unwitting consumers to purchase Foster Farms products under the belief that the company cares about the welfare of the millions of chickens it slaughters each year. American Humane’s President even appears in a video on the Foster Farms website, reassuring consumers that the company cares about animal welfare, all while chickens are being regularly thrown, drowned, mangled, and disfigured in its slaughterhouses and hatcheries.

Animal Partisan’s complaint was brought under a District of Columbia law that requires that the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection investigate such complaints. Animal Partisan is urging the agency to utilize its broad authority to impose civil fines on American Humane and order the organization to remove its deceptive statements from the Internet.

View a copy of the complaint HERE.

Please consider supporting our ongoing work of challenging injustice to animals used in agriculture and research. Whether you’re most comfortable donating, signing-up for our emails, or sharing connections and information you think might help our work, we want you on our team.