Maxwell Farms will sell 50 percent of Butterball to Seaboard Corp.  Walter “Gator” Pelletier, past chairman of the National Turkey Federation, is Butterball LLC's corporate secretary — managing all operating activities from turkey production and directing Maxwell Farms, the managing partner of Butterball. Pelletier is also president of Maxwell Farms, Inc., vice president of Goldsboro Milling Company, and secretary-treasurer of Maxwell Foods, Inc. Pelletier had joined Goldsboro Milling Company in 1981. Beginning in late 1981, Butterball has maintained a toll-free telephone line called the Turkey Talk-Line to help customers with cooking and preparation questions. Eleven thousand people called in 1981, and in recent years the number has grown to over 200,000 each holiday season. The most frequent question asked is how long a turkey takes to defrost. In "The West Wing" episode "The Indians in the Lobby", President Josiah Bartlet calls the number (referred to as the "Butterball Hotline" in the script) to discuss stuffing and cooking his Thanksgiving turkey while trying to avoid revealing his identity to the operator (voiced by an uncredited Ana Gasteyer). Animal rights activists such as Mercy for Animals, the Humane Society of the United States, and PETA have accused Butterball of animal cruelty. These organizations cite intentional cruelty inflicted on the birds, as well as the incidental cruelty inherent in the slaughter methods used, and the breeding practices which produce animals too large to reproduce without human intervention. In October 2012, a Mercy for Animals investigator documented a pattern of abuse and neglect at numerous Butterball turkey operations in North Carolina. The investigation revealed workers kicking and stomping on birds, dragging them by their wings and necks, and throwing turkeys onto the ground or on top of other birds; birds suffering from serious untreated illnesses and injuries, including open sores, infections, and broken bones; and workers grabbing birds by their wings or necks and violently slamming them into tiny transport crates with no regard for their welfare. This investigation occurred less than one year after a Mercy for Animals undercover investigation into a different Butterball turkey facility led to five workers being charged with criminal cruelty to animals. Mercy for Animals’ 2011 investigation at a Butterball turkey factory farm in Shannon, Hoke County, North Carolina revealed Butterball workers violently kicking and stomping on birds, dragging them by their wings and necks, slamming them into transport crates, and leaving turkeys to suffer from serious untreated injuries and infections.