USDA rejects Mercy for Animals humane bird slaughter request

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has rejected a petition from an animal rights group that sought more humane treatment for turkeys and chickens sent to slaughter.  California-based Mercy For Animals filed a petition in November asking the USDA to include poultry in the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, a 1958 law that makes it a crime to abuse or neglect pigs and cows during slaughter.The head of the USDA's Office of Food Safety said in denying the petition that other regulations ensure humane poultry treatment.