Employees from a Chilliwack-based chicken catching company will now be equipped with body cameras, company officials say.

The move follows the release of horrific by Mercy for Animals that showed live birds being torn apart, stomped and thrown. The video is driving a major shakeup in industry practice.

On Wednesday, Elite Services president Duane Dueck said the company has pledged big changes in quick order.

Three Elite workers as a direct result of the video.

Brand-new operating procedures now include new video system for the chicken-catching service hired to round up and transport chickens.

鈥淓ffective immediately, it will be mandatory for one supervisor and two staff members in each barn to wear cameras on their safety vests to capture the activity within the barn,鈥� said Dueck, in a follow-up news release.

Video footage of barn activity will checked daily, and the plan is to get the cameras up and running within two weeks. They are currently being tested in the field.

Mercy for Animals Canada vice-president Krista Hiddema called the announcement the company would use body cameras 鈥渁bsolutely ridiculous.鈥�

鈥淚f they wanted to truly do something meaningful then they should ensure those cameras are live-streamed to the Internet,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f they have cameras on their bodies, it is no different than what they are doing today.鈥�

After the videos were release, Elite Services said they responded with company-wide 鈥渞efresh and retraining鈥� that started on June 13. This process was in conjunction to updating the Standards and Procedures for the organization, and incorporating the new safety and video requirements.

鈥淭oday, Elite Services will introduce a comprehensive organizational update to the new SOP and all employees will be asked to sign new orientation documentation affirming that they understand the care, concern and procedures that our organization demands.

鈥淚t is our hope that the senseless acts of violence that were perpetrated in the video will be a catalyst to implement new elevated levels of animal care, not just at Elite Services, but industry wide.

鈥淚t is our intent to share the experience of our new best practices with industry regulators, and adopt other best practices from cutting edge producers.鈥�

Dueck also corrected some incorrect details released by mistake, 鈥渄ue to the rapidly evolving nature of this event, and in an effort to respond swiftly.鈥�

Of the five Elite employees who were dismissed, two in fact had already been let go prior to the release of the video.

鈥淭he other three employees were terminated as a direct result of the video. Since the release of the June 13 statement, after a detailed forensic review of the video, one additional person has been identified and terminated,鈥� said Dueck. 鈥淲e wanted to ensure that the correct information was shared in a timely manner.鈥�

Hiddema remain unimpressed with the company鈥檚 response to the undercover videos and she hopes criminal charges are being considered.

鈥淚t鈥檚 almost comical that they are taking the position they are going to wear cameras,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 still a matter of the fox guarding the henhouse.鈥�