Kreider Farms Statement on Humane Society Allegations

April 12, 2012 — -- The animal rights group The Humane Society of the United States today claimed that an undercover investigation has revealed "extreme animal abuse" and unsanitary conditions at Kreider Farms, a major regional egg supplier in Pennsylvania. Below is Kreider Farms' full statement in response to the Humane Society's allegations:

Kreider Farms is considered one of the most progressive egg companies in the United States. The FDA tapped our family-owned farm to help train its inspectors in 2010. And Kreider has been awarded the Family Farm Environmental Excellence Award by the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, an award that is given annually to only a handful of U.S. farms.

We are leading the industry by tearing down old, traditional-style egg houses and replacing them with new, state-of-the-art facilities. More than 80 percent of our chickens are housed in larger, modern cages. By comparison, 80 percent of U.S. caged egg production still houses birds in older, traditional style cages.

It is public knowledge that The Humane Society of the United States' (HSUS) has partnered with United Egg Producers (UEP) to petition the government for national egg production standards. Kreider Farms is not a member of UEP, but we fully support such legislation. More regulation would actually benefit Kreider Farms; with our state-of-the-art facilities, we would have the least to do to comply.

The allegations by HSUS are a gross distortion of Kreider Farms, our employees and the way we care for our birds. We have no evidence of undercover activity inside our facilities, and there is no evidence that HSUS video footage was taken inside Kreider Farms. There are still many unanswered questions regarding how and when this video was shot, edited and assembled.

Based upon HSUS's recent accusations, three official, spontaneous inspections of our chicken houses were held on April 11, including from the Pennsylvania State Board of Veterinary Medicine. All three inspections provided us with a 'clean bill of health.'

Our birds are clean, active and healthy. We believe HSUS's allegations are unfounded.

Thank you to our loyal and supportive family of customers and industry partners.

Sincerely,

Ron Kreider

President and CEO, and the third-generation family leader of Kreider Farms

READ: Pennsylvania Egg Factory Accused of Animal Cruelty, Filfth