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Records reveal the company killed thousands of turkeys using “ventilation shutdown plus,” which causes heatstroke
LITCHFIELD, Minn. — This week, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) and Animal Partisan filed an application to the Eighth Judicial District Court in Meeker County, Minnesota, to obtain a court-issued search warrant and order a law enforcement investigation into Jennie-O Turkey Farms. The organizations, with the assistance of Minnesota attorneys Karmen McQuitty and Kira Kelley, allege that Jennie-O violated a Minnesota animal protection law that requires a “change of air” for any enclosed animal when the company used a method of mass killing known as “ventilation shutdown plus” (VSD+) to kill over 50,000 turkeys at a commercial factory farm in Meeker County.
Ventilation shutdown is executed by sealing up the buildings in which farmed animals are housed. All vents are closed and fans shut off to create an airtight environment while animals are subjected to rising temperatures over multiple hours until eventually dying of heat stroke. When VSD+ is used, excess heat or gas is pumped into the barns to speed up the process, though it can still take hours to kill animals. VSD+ has been increasingly used by the animal agriculture industry in recent years in response to disease outbreaks and to address backlogs of animals caused by shuttered slaughterhouses that could not operate because of worker sickness from COVID -19.
The application alleges that Jennie-O killed four barns full of turkeys on October 9, 2023, using VSD+ and that this conduct violates Minnesota Statute § 343.21, which requires a “change of air” in the barns where animals are housed. The application relies on public records obtained from both state and federal government agencies as evidence of the alleged conduct by Jennie-O.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund was founded in 1979 to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. To accomplish this mission, the Animal Legal Defense Fund files high-impact lawsuits to protect animals from harm; provides free legal assistance and training to prosecutors and law enforcement to ensure that animal victims are removed from cruelty situations and animal abusers are held accountable; supports tough animal protection legislation and fights harmful legislation; and provides resources and opportunities to law students and professionals to advance the emerging field of animal law. For more information, please visit aldf.org.
Animal Partisan is a legal advocacy organization whose mission is to end the suffering of animals in slaughterhouses, farms, and laboratories. For more information, please visit animalpartisan.org.
