Tyson Foods announced it will retrain all of its live poultry workers on its animal handling practices after an undercover video showed workers at several Virginia farms abusing live birds. The video was released by the animal rights group Compassion Over Killing, reports USA Today.

“The people shown in the video by Compassion Over Killing were all trained in proper animal handling, yet chose to ignore it and failed to alert management about the despicable treatment on these farms,” said Christine Daugherty, vice president of sustainable food production for Tyson Foods.  “Animals in our care deserve to be treated humanely. It’s our responsibility to ensure that everyone who works for our company behaves properly. Our management team is dedicated to continue fostering a culture of proper animal handling.”

One of the scenes in the video shows a worker stepping on a chicken’s head to suffocate. He warns the undercover investigator to not let anyone see him doing it, because it is inhumane.

Tyson said in a statement that it has begun meeting with every employee in its chicken operations that handles live birds “to aggressively re-emphasize the importance of proper animal handling and the consequences of not complying with the company’s animal welfare policies.”

The company also said it will conduct a video conference this week in which Tyson's senior management will discuss handling of live birds with managers at the company’s facilities.

Source: USA Today