Tyson Foods Inc. said it will investigate allegations by the animal-welfare group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that chickens were abused and tortured at two of its chicken processing plants. PETA said an undercover investigator for the group had video documentation of workers throwing live chickens, hitting them with fists, and urinating in an area where the live birds were shackled.

Tyson said it is cooperating with USDA's investigation of the matter. The plants were in Cumming, Georgia, and Union City, Tennessee.