Seeking Warrant to Investigate Jennie-O for Animal Cruelty in Violation of the Law

On March 20, 2025, the Animal Legal Defense Fund and Animal Partisan filed an application to the Eighth Judicial District Court in Meeker County, Minnesota, to obtain a court-issued search warrant and order a law enforcement investigation into Jennie-O Turkey Farms. The organizations, with the assistance of Minnesota attorney Karmen McQuitty, allege that Jennie-O violated a Minnesota animal protection law that requires a “change of air” for any enclosed animal when the company used a method of mass killing known as “ventilation shutdown plus” (VSD+) to kill over 50,000 turkeys at a commercial factory farm in Meeker County.   

Ventilation shutdown is executed by completely sealing up the buildings in which farmed animals are housed. All vents are closed and fans shut off to create an airtight environment while animals are baked alive in rising temperatures over multiple hours. Animals killed from ventilation shutdown often suffer over prolonged periods of time, during which they experience the excruciating pain and distress caused by excessive temperature increase and lack of oxygen. When VSD+ is used, excess heat or gas is pumped into the barns to speed up the process, though it can still take hours to kill animals. 

The public records obtained by Animal Partisan and the veterinarian advocacy group Our Honor show that Jennie-O killed four barns full of turkeys on October 9, 2023, using VSD+. Under Minnesota Statute § 343.21, a “change of air” is required in the barns where animals are housed. However, Jennie-O prevented a “change of air” to the barn as shown in the records, which state that “[a]ny holes or gaps…[were] sealed with plastic,” and that plastic was used “to seal middle divider of barn.” Jennie-O then brought in additional heaters to increase temperatures in the barn and inflict heatstroke on the birds confined with no means of escape and no access to fresh air. The barns full of turkeys were then heated to 104 degrees and the records reveal that birds trapped in these barns suffered anywhere from three to four hours before they ultimately died. 

The use of VSD+ is highly controversial; it has been challenged by numerous veterinarians opposed to the method, and has been criticized by animal protection groups and members of the public as being especially cruel. VSD+ has been increasingly used by the animal agriculture industry in recent years in response to disease outbreaks and to address backlogs of animals caused by shuttered slaughterhouses that could not operate because of worker sickness from COVID-19. 

What action has been taken and related to what law? An application for a search warrant was submitted by The Animal Legal Defense Fund and Animal Partisan seeking a warrant and order for law enforcement to investigate Jennie-O for violating Minnesota’s animal cruelty law, Minn. Stat. § 343.21, Subd. 3, which mandates providing proper air circulation for enclosed animals. 

Why this action is important: If a warrant is granted and the court orders law enforcement to conduct an investigation, it can help undercover evidence that will allow for criminal animal cruelty charges to be filed as a result of this investigation under the theory that Jennie-O violated the statute when they did not provide proper air circulation.