NEWS VIDEO AVAILABLE:

"Local activist group says Wegmans mistreats chickens at local farm"

7/2/05

News 10 NBC

Wegmans is denying accusations that it's mistreating hundreds of thousands of chickens to sell eggs. The vegetarian activist group Compassionate Consumers is admitting to breaking in to the Wegmans egg farm in Wayne County. The groups say it wants to show consumers what's going on. The activist group wants to point out it's not just Wegmans egg farms that are abusive to birds, but 98% of wire cage farms across the country.

Considering the fact Wegmans is the only grocer nationwide that actually owns its own eggs on a farm, the activists' think it's a good place to start. The group is accusing Wegmans of cramming up to nine chickens in cages the size of a filing cabinet. The group also says its members had to take dead birds out of the cages and clean feces off living birds.
Wegmans shows a different story and even questions whether all of the other video is really that of the Wegmans egg farm in Wolcott, Wayne County. Wegmans spokesperson Jo Natale says the grocery store is outraged by the accusations. She says the company not only cares about animal welfare, but couldn't even produce enough eggs if its hens weren't healthy.

NEWS 10NBC also found out this has been an ongoing thing for Wegmans with this activist group. In 2004 Wayne County's District Attorney investigated the egg farm and in the end Wegmans received a good bill of health. If you can see more of the video from Compassionate Consumers on their website.