Three workers at a Chester County farm kicked, punched and stomped on turkeys, DA says

Prosecutors in Chester County have charged three men with animal cruelty after an undercover investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals found evidence they kicked, punched, and stomped on turkeys they were hired to herd at a New Oxford farm.

Joseph Nunez Rosario, 41, of York, Christopher McCardle, 37, of Gettysburg, and Mitchell Buckley, 23, of Aspers, Adams County, all face multiple counts of cruelty to animals, a second-degree misdemeanor. The alleged abuse was filmed in August at facilities operated by Plainville Farms in West Sadsbury and West Fallowfield Townships.

It wasn’t clear Thursday if any of the three men had hired attorneys, and none responded to requests for comment.

Chester County District Attorney Deborah Ryan thanked PETA for bringing the abuses to the attention of authorities.

“Animal abuse is inhumane and cruel and will not be tolerated by my office or any law enforcement in Pennsylvania,” Ryan said.

An employee of PETA went undercover at Plainville Farms, a facility that supplies turkey products to Whole Foods and other grocery stores, including deli meat and ground turkey, according to the affidavits of probable cause for the arrests.

Videos the employee secretly recorded showed the three men hitting the turkeys with enough force to “cause serious bodily injury,” the affidavit said. Management for Plainville told investigators that the men were hired to catch and handle turkeys headed to a slaughterhouse and had been trained in how to handle the birds to avoid injuring them.

Plainville Farms chief executive officer Matt Goodson said Thursday the three men have been fired and that the company had started “an aggressive internal investigation including outside animal welfare experts” and also put in place body-worn cameras used during the turkey-catching process.

“Plainville remains committed to the highest welfare standards for our animals and customers,” Goodson said. “We believe that it’s important for incidents like this to come to light in order to challenge our industry to do better.”

The group were among 11 former Plainville Farms employees charged with animal cruelty because of abuses documented in the PETA videos, authorities said.

Also charged were: Bryce P. Washington, 26; Miguel Turi Cantellano, 65; and Juan Turi Baeza, 37, all of McSherrystown, Adams County; Jason K. Turner, 22, and Bryiant O. Perez-Paez, 40, both of Hanover, York County; Francisco M. Lebron-Cruz, 39, of Thomasville, York County; Jose E. Turi Baeza, 29, of New Oxford; and Kevin L. Wagaman, 49, of Fayetteville, Franklin County.

PETA posted some of the video clips on its website this week.

“PETA’s investigator saw workers attack birds to instill fear, to vent their frustration, or to relieve their boredom,” the organization said in a statement. “Workers kicked and stomped on the turkeys as hard as they could. They threw birds through the air by the wing, neck, head, and snood. They threw them back and forth just for fun.”