The Latest: Animal rights group says Tyson effort not enough

The Latest on Tyson Foods saying it is launching several initiatives to promote animal well-being: (all times local):

4:20 p.m.

Animal rights groups say they are pleased that Tyson Foods wants to improve conditions at its farms but that the company's plans don't go far enough.

Tyson announced Wednesday that it had installed cameras at its 33 processing plants and hired a team to review how it handles and slaughters chickens. The group Mercy for Animals says birds will still suffer under traditional industry practices, especially when they grow so large that their legs no longer support them.

Mercy for Animals and similar groups have distributed videos of workers abusing animals. Tyson says its plan to improve "animal well-being" was not adopted in response to the bad publicity.

In addition to setting up cameras, Tyson has hired nearly five dozen workers to monitor animals while they're still on the farm.

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12:10 a.m.

The nation's largest meat producer says it has installed video cameras in key areas of all its poultry processing operations and will seek a new way to slaughter birds.

Tyson Foods says it views itself as a steward for millions of birds and that it isn't reacting to the bad publicity that comes when undercover videos show abuses in agriculture. In recent years, animal rights groups have shown some workers with a number of companies treating animals roughly before they are slaughtered.

Tyson says a third party will review videos remotely, concentrating on areas where workers handle live animals. The company has hired nearly five dozen "animal well-being" specialists to circulate among its growers.

The company also says it will explore killing birds with carbon dioxide gas rather than through traditional means.