Today, Gene Baur, president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, issued a statement on Russia’s decision to ban the import of meat from 19 U.S. poultry companies due to health and disease concerns:

“The decision from Russia, the biggest foreign consumer of U.S. poultry, to ban imports from U.S. poultry companies, and the myriad other meat recalls that have occurred recently in the U.S., illustrate that the American meat supply is shockingly unsafe. Prior to Russia’s ban, 19 poultry facilities ignored warnings from Russian inspectors concerned about excessive levels of antibiotics and arsenic found in their poultry. Far from the idyllic farms people envision, today’s poultry factories crowd thousands of chickens and turkeys tightly into filthy warehouses, where they are given little space to move, made susceptible to disease, and fed antibiotics and arsenic to maximize growth and profitability. These factory farms treat both animals and consumers with complete disregard. The poultry industry’s short sighted desire to prioritize profits over human safety and animal welfare has now backfired, opening America’s factory farms to international scrutiny.”

Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the "food animal" industry through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming. Additional information can be found at www.farmsanctuary.org or by calling 607-583-2225.

Farm Sanctuary
Angela Barker, 607-583-2225 ext. 256
abarker@farmsanctuary.org