The undercover video, produced by animal welfare campaign organisation Compassion Over Killing, reportedly shows Tyson employees engaging in violent acts of abuse against chickens inside several different contract broiler breeder facilities in Virginia.

The video was sent to three county attorneys in Virginia last week and was made available for Tyson to view on Tuesday, prompting the sackings.

Dr Christine Daugherty, vice president of sustainable food production for Tyson Foods, said: "I'm disgusted and outraged by what’s shown in this video. We do not tolerate animal abuse and have fired ten people who were members of this crew. It was an obvious decision once we were finally able to review the video Tuesday afternoon.

"The people shown in the video by Compassion Over Killing were all trained in proper animal handling, yet chose to ignore it and failed to alert management about the despicable treatment on these farms.

"Animals in our care deserve to be treated humanely. It's our responsibility to ensure that everyone who works for our company behaves properly. Our management team is dedicated to continue fostering a culture of proper animal handling."

As well as firing these individuals, Tyson Foods said it is meeting with all live bird handlers and management personnel to stress the importance of proper handling, and will co-operate with the authorities who will decide whether to pursue criminal charges against the individuals in the video.