[Mr.Buttocks]

[quote:7e1e2]Two workers at a Bernard Matthews plant who played baseball with live turkeys have been sentenced to community service.

Daniel Palmer, 27, and Neil Allen, 30, both of Dereham, Norfolk, were secretly filmed hitting birds with a pole.

[img]http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1400823.jpg[/img]

Both admitted ill treatment and were ordered to carry out 200 hours community service.

Their lawyer told magistrates in Norwich that the pair - who were turkey catchers who no longer work for Bernard Matthews - were influenced by "peer pressure" and part of a "culture" at the plant in Haveringland, Norfolk.

An RSPCA inspector said it was the worst case of cruelty to farm animals he had heard of and added that the poultry industry was under pressure to improve welfare standards.


The organisation, which secretly filmed the abuse during an investigation into bird welfare, said people would be "horrified" by the reality of factory farming.

Prosecutor Jonathan Eales said: "He (the investigator) heard Allen say 'you throw them and I'll hit them'.

"They were using poles which they had been using to help them round up the turkeys and they were using them like a baseball bat."

At least three turkeys were abused but their carcasses were not recovered.

A vet who saw the footage said it was the "most hideous and blatant" abuse he had seen in 25 years, said Mr Eales.

Simon Nicholls, defending, said both men were of previous good character and full of "remorse".

There have now been calls for a government minister into the industry.

Bernard Matthews said it would make a statement later. A spokesman said the company was committed to the "highest standards" of animal welfare.[/quote:7e1e2]