5 Disturbing New Claims From Another Farmer Focus Whistleblower
What would you call it when a company reportedly mutilates, bruises, breaks, drowns, and decapitates chickens while the birds feel every second of it? Humane Farm Animal Care and the Global Animal Partnership call it “humane” or “animal welfare certified.” Then, it’s marketed as such to consumers.
But a “shocked” whistleblower from Farmer Focus’s Virginia slaughterhouse tells a different story. Below, you’ll see what they say happened behind those “transparent” and “humane” claims. Take a look:
We Published Our Exposé, And Then Another Whistleblower Came Forward
Would you eat something after it’s been on the floor for 15 minutes? If you eat chicken flesh from Farmer Focus, you might have, according to a new whistleblower. Just weeks after PETA released our initial exposé, another Farmer Focus whistleblower came forward. In addition to corroborating many of the first whistleblower’s claims—such as the mouse infestation, high numbers of broken and bruised chickens’ wings, and the malfunctioning stunning bath—the new whistleblower alleged even more blood-curdling details from this hellhole.
5 Disturbing New Claims from Another Farmer Focus Whistleblower
1. Managers Sniffed Warm Meat to Decide if It Was Okay to Use
According to the whistleblower, workers consistently didn’t put enough ice on chicken flesh to keep it from spoiling, and alarms constantly blared because “chiller baths” weren’t cold enough. On April 1, 2025, an alarm was triggered 20 times in less than 24 hours, according to the log provided by the whistleblower.
The whistleblower said some chicken flesh products warmed to “way above the allowed limit,” leading to many spoilage complaints from Quality Assurance workers and customers alike. Reportedly, operations managers chose whether to overrule Quality Assurance personnel’s “condemned” tags by smelling the meat. They allegedly told staff, “Just put it on ice, it doesn’t smell bad.”
2. Pieces of Metal and Plastic Were Found in Chicken Flesh That Was Still Sold to Customers
Pieces of metal and plastic from broken machinery and cutting gloves were reportedly found in processed chicken flesh. Rather than condemning the meat, managers allegedly told workers to look through boxes of flesh for foreign objects.
3. Forget the ‘5 Second Rule’—Chicken Flesh Was Sold After Being on the Floor for Over 15 Minutes
According to the whistleblower, so much meat fell to the floor that workers could often not pick it up in a timely manner before “reconditioning” it. Allegedly, Farmer Focus managers allowed chicken flesh to be rinsed, processed, and eventually sold after it sat on the floor in high-traffic areas for over 15 minutes.
4. Farmer Focus Violated Federal Law
According to the whistleblower, some birds who were dead on arrival to the slaughterhouse were still hung on the line to be used for their flesh, which would violate federal law. Many chickens die while being trucked through all weather extremes to slaughterhouses. Some birds are sick, other stressed birds die in tightly packed cages, and some die due to the harsh weather they are driven through.
5. Federal Inspectors Reportedly Sleep on the Job
According to the whistleblower, U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) personnel stationed at the facility are extremely lax and have even been seen sleeping on the job as chickens pass by them.
The First Whistleblower on the Line
Every week, Farmer Focus (formerly known as Shenandoah Valley Organic) kills an estimated 600,000 chickens and sells their bodies as “certified humane.” According to an inside source:
Due to rough handling during “catch and transport,” chickens’ wings and legs were bruised, broken, and dislocated at rates far beyond what the chicken industry considers “acceptable.” The birds are “slammed” and caught in cage trays during transport.
Chickens arrived at the slaughterhouse stressed, flapping, and struggling—some even jumped off the conveyor belt in an attempt to escape. Loud music playing in the “live hang” area further stressed the birds.
Workers allegedly “slammed” birds’ legs into shackles, hanging them upside down from a conveyor belt that carries them to eventual slaughter.
Allegations of a “Deficient” Slaughter Process:
Station 1: The Faulty Electric Stunning Bath
Once shackled, desperate, dangling birds are plunged into an electrified bath that’s supposed to knock them out instantly. But according to the whistleblower:
- The salt solutions (needed to conduct electricity) were poorly maintained.
- The conduction plates—metal bars that carry the electric charge—were worn out for months and only replaced before a scheduled audit.
- The stunning voltage was not properly managed.
- The bath was often overfilled, which shocked and distressed chickens but failed to stun them effectively.
- The overfilled bath even resulted in chickens being submerged to their shoulders, and panicked birds slowly drowned to death.
Station 2: The Kill Blade That Missed
Birds reportedly flailed as they approached the automatic kill blade, and instead of delivering a quick slash that caused rapid blood loss and death, the blade struck the necks, faces, and even the wings of panicking chickens.
Surviving Birds’ Final Stop: The “Head Puller”
Back-up employees are supposed to manually slice the throats of birds who survive the automatic blade. But, according to the whistleblower, the workers were not properly trained and failed to deliver a cut that would kill the birds quickly. In “many cases,” the whistleblower says, bleeding birds—still alert—arrived at the “head puller.” This machine ripped their heads from their bodies, finally ending their prolonged, horrific suffering.
Farmer Focus Reportedly Knows About All This—and Serious Issues on Its Contract Farms
The whistleblower told PETA the company “knowingly” overstocked massive sheds with chickens. They claim that Farmer Focus is also aware that some contract farmers deliberately startled birds, presumably for “exercise,” but it only served to stress them even more. The whistleblower said the stressed birds’ frantic flapping caused “prevalent and acute” rates of deep pectoral myopathy (green muscle disease), a painful ailment that causes their muscles to break down and causes their breast tissue to become green. The new whistleblower confirmed that workers “always” saw green meat on the birds’ bodies as they were eviscerated.
The Farmer Focus Slaughterhouse Is Reportedly Falling Apart
According to the whistleblower, the Farmer Focus facility itself was filthy and in disarray. The ceilings were reportedly buckling and leaking continuously. Leaks allegedly dripped onto the conveyor belts and chicken carcasses that would be packaged and sold to consumers.
The facility also apparently had severe, unaddressed rodent and termite infestations. Both whistleblowers said they regularly saw mice in production and storage areas, including this one who was allegedly found drowned in a container that holds as much as 2000 pounds of bulk meat.
The drains throughout the plant were reportedly routinely backed up and not cleaned, filling the Farmer Focus facility with a “horrific” odor that’s so invasive that it permeated coolers and caused off-odors in stored products. The “contaminated” water from these drains apparently spread across the slaughterhouse floor, and chicken carcasses that fell to the floor were allegedly allowed to be washed and sold.
Farmer Focus’ Transparency Is Apparently as Murky as Its Floors
In addition to the “humane” labels, one of the prime selling points of Farmer Focus chicken flesh is a “Farm ID” code on the package that claims to direct customers to the farm the (slaughtered) bird came from. According to the whistleblower, Farmer Focus “knowingly defraud[s]” consumers by “consistently and knowingly” placing the incorrect farm ID on its products.
Every year, slaughterhouses kill more than 9 billion chickens in the U.S. Most suffer through long, terror-filled journeys and agonizing deaths like these at Farmer Focus. Every animal is someone, and they all deserve better than the deceptive labels humane and welfare certifiers slap on the packaging of their broken bodies. Please, go vegan!
Don’t be misled by marketing claims that animals are raised in a “stress-free” environment and transported in “comfort.” Avoid all animal-derived foods, even supposed “humane,” “organic,” and “free-range” meat, eggs, and milk. As long as profit is involved, animal welfare always takes a back seat.