WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. - Tuesday marked what is expected to be the first of five days of protest at Perdue Farms corporate headquarters near Salisbury.
The group Direct Action Everywhere (DXE) is bringing its concerns about alleged animal abuse and health concerns at a Perdue subsidiary in Northern California to Delmarva. Around noon, the three protesters, holding a sign of Perdue CEO Kevin McAdams face with the caption "I Torture Chickens" were outnumbered considerably by law enforcement and private security.
The protest lead Curtis Vollmar says in addition to the animal welfare concerns, the group wants to end all animal agriculture. "Our group has been investigating slaughterhouses and factory farms in Northern California for the better part of a decade," he told WBOC.
Andrea Staub, Perdue's Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications says the group's allegations are not true. "Every single year for the past ten years, we invite animal welfare organizations, farmers, customers, academia to come right here to Delmarva to understand what we're doing in terms of animal welfare," she said.
The DXE group has used various methods to protest. In Northern California, its members have entered private farms and removed chickens, and protesters have taken their message outside the home of a Perdue employee.
But Vollmar says the group's methods here will only be peaceful. "Our group is completely nonviolent. 100% nonviolent. We I mean, that's the world that we're striving for," he said.
WBOC spoke with a neighbor near the Perdue headquarters who was sitting in his truck, he says to guard his property from protesters. The man who did not want to be identified or go on camera says he does not want anyone affiliated with the protest on his property and that Perdue has been a good neighbor.
Perdue has taken substantial measures ahead of the protest. It has placed temporary fencing around some of its prominent locations in Wicomico County, enlisted the aide of law enforcement and security, and set up a "first amendment zone" across the street from the HQ as a designated location for protesters.
"We wanted to ensure that our associates remain safe and the community remain safe. So when you see the fencing, it really was done out of an abundance of caution," Staub says.
DXE says it plans to protest throughout the week in Wicomico County.