Two animal welfare groups, Farm Sanctuary and the Animal Welfare Institute, have accused OK Foods of acts of animal cruelty in its Heavener, Okla., plant. The accusations include boiling chickens alive and disposing of living birds into the trash, reports NewsOK.com.

From December 2013 to April 2014, the OK Foods plant in Heavener was the second worst in the country, according to USDA inspection records the groups obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. The Heavener poultry plant had nine incidents of handling birds inhumanely during the five-month period, including multiple incidents of workers throwing live birds in the trash or boiling them alive.

Those practices conflict with federal standards for the poultry industry and also are in violation of state animal cruelty laws, said Bruce Freidrich, director of policy for Farm Sanctuary.

OK Foods, which is owned by the Mexican processor Industrias, Bachoco, did not respond to requests by The Oklahoman for comment.

Source: www.newsok.com