Animal rights activists plan protest at Tacoma grocery

A touring animal rights group will introduce a seven-foot-tall replica of a damaged chicken at a Tacoma grocery Wednesday (July 15).

“Abby the Abused Chicken,” described in a release from the group Mercy for Animals, will appear from noon-1 p.m. Wednesday at the Safeway at 1302 S. 38th St. in Tacoma’s Lincoln District.

The protest, according to the release, is aimed against the poultry giant Foster Farms, which the group claims uses brutal methods to both raise and dispatch poultry.

A Bay Area public relations firm has issued a statement on behalf of Foster Farms claiming the company was the first major grower in the nation “to be certified by the American Humane Association” and that the association has audited Foster Farms and found it “to be in compliance with certification requirements.”

The response from the company also notes that Mercy for Animals “is a vegan organization that is actively opposed to the consumption of beef, fish, seafood, dairy and pork, as well as poultry products.”

Bill Mattos, president of the Northwest Chicken Council, said earlier this week that the protesters “just want to eliminate eating meat in America” and that the protest is “totally ridiculous.”

This story was originally published July 13, 2015 at 10:27 AM with the headline "Animal rights activists plan protest at Tacoma grocery."