Press Association
Monday April 24, 2006 9:58 PM
Food firm Bernard Matthews spoke of its horror after members of staff were apparently caught on camera playing "bat and ball" with live turkeys.
The company vowed to investigate after an undercover investigator took the shots in a shed at Beck Farm in Felthorpe, near Norwich, on Friday.
The secretly-filmed video was made by a cameraman from Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Frettenham, Norfolk, which has been investigating factory-farming for 11 years.
Bernard Matthews said in a statement: "The company is horrified by these allegations.
"At this stage we cannot comment on them until we have reviewed any evidence. However, we stress that the welfare of our birds is of paramount importance to the company.
"Any person found to have compromised our high standards of bird welfare would be liable to disciplinary procedures which could lead to dismissal."
