‘GTA V’ Film Asks, "Why Did the Chicken Flee the Factory?"

This article contains graphic content. 

For those who have seen cruel hidden-camera factory farm videos in which animals like chickens are corralled in small cages and subjected to live decapitation, eating a chicken salad sandwich is never quite the same. In Escape From Cluckin' Bell, a short film made in GTA V, director Lee Iovino pairs footage from a rooster escaping a chicken factory with actual footage from the industrial food facilities that dot the American landscape.

Like Peter Lord and Nick Park’s 2000 animated comedy film, Chicken Run, there’s a dystopian tone to Iovino’s GTA V short. The beginning features overweight Americans at the game’s Cluckin’ Bell restaurant, either waiting to eat or dining on chicken. Iovino then cross-cuts to Cluckin’ Bell farms, and then weaves the hightailin’ rooster through the factory as he’s chased by a vicious worker who grows increasingly agitated at the pursuit.

The real footage of factory chicken cruelty comes from hidden camera footage shot by Mercy for Animals at a Tyson Foods chicken factory. The video also directs to a Change.org campaign, launched by Candice Bergen and Mercy for Animals, that calls on Tyson to “stop ripping the heads of chickens.” The petition currently has over 160,000 supporters.

Click here to see more from Lee Iovino.

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