Turkeys: Factory-Farmed Torture on the Holiday Table

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Ben Franklin called the turkey “a bird of courage” and “a true original native of America.”(1) He had tremendous respect for their resourcefulness, agility, and beauty and thought that the turkey should be the national bird of the U.S. He was referring to wild turkeys, who can fly at speeds of up to 55 miles per hour, run at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour, and live for around 10 years.(2,3)

A British study found that turkeys showed a preference for different kinds of music and sounds, and a poultry scientist said, “If you throw an apple to a group of turkeys, they’ll play with it together.”(4,5) Some turkey farmers admit that the birds show “signs of personality.”(6) Hunters are advised that wild turkeys are “wary” and will “test your wits as they are rarely tested in modern life.”(7) The millions of turkeys who end up on American dinner plates are genetically manipulated animals who have brief, difficult lives in factory farms that are far removed from the open spaces that their wild cousins enjoy.

Life on Factory Farms Is Miserable

More than 40 million turkeys are killed each year at Thanksgiving, more than 20 million are slaughtered at Christmas, and another 19 million die for Easter dinners.(8) Before ending up as holiday centerpieces, these gentle birds spend five to six months on factory farms where thousands of them are packed into dark sheds with no more than 3.5 square feet of space per bird.(9) To keep the overcrowded birds from scratching and pecking each other to death, workers cut off portions of the birds’ toes and upper beaks with hot blades and de-snood the males (the snood is the flap of skin that runs from the beak to the chest).(10) No pain relievers are used during any of these procedures.

Genetic manipulation and antibiotics enable farmers to produce heavily muscled birds who can weigh 35 pounds in as little as five months, and “their internal organs are noticeably crammed together in the little bit of space remaining for the body cavity,” according to The Washington Post.(11) An industry magazine said, “[T]urkey breeders have created birds with huge, unnatural, outsized breasts, since white breast meat is where the money is.”(12) Another turkey breeder complained that birds “are bred to grow fast just to live to 16 weeks [and then] they die,” usually from organ failure, and some suffer from broken legs because their bones are not able to support their weight.(13) A 12-year study of turkey farmers in Iowa (one of the nation’s top turkey-producing states) revealed that leg problems and aneurysms were among the top three health problems in turkey flocks.(14) Factory-farmed turkeys are so large that they cannot even perform normal reproductive behaviors, so all turkeys raised for food are the products of artificial insemination.(15)

Millions of turkeys don’t even make it past the first few weeks before succumbing to “starve-out,” a stress-induced condition that causes young birds to simply stop eating.(16) Catching and transportation are particularly stressful processes for birds, and yet they are repeatedly moved during their short lives—from hatchery to the brooding area to the growing area and finally to the slaughterhouse.(17)

At the slaughterhouse, turkeys are hung upside-down by their weak and crippled legs before their heads are dragged through an electrified “stunning tank,” which immobilizes them but does not kill them. Many birds dodge the tank and, therefore, are fully conscious when their throats are slit. If the knife fails to properly slit the birds’ throats, they are scalded alive in the tank of hot water used for feather removal.

Investigation Reveals Extreme Cruelty

A PETA investigation of Minnesota-based Crestview Farm revealed that the manager of the farm repeatedly used a metal pipe to bludgeon 12-week-old turkeys who were lame, injured, ill, or otherwise unsuitable for slaughter and consumption. The injured birds were thrown onto piles of other dead and dying birds then tossed into a wheelbarrow for disposal. Birds who were overlooked were kicked or beaten with pliers or had their necks wrung—all in full view of other terrified birds. When the Minnesota Turkey Growers came to the defense of the farmer, the local district attorney refused to prosecute.

More details and photos from this case are available at www.PETA.org.

Turkey Is Not a Health Food

Turkey flesh is completely devoid of fiber and carbohydrates and is loaded with even more fat and cholesterol than many cuts of beef. A turkey’s leg contains about 63 milligrams of cholesterol, and 42 percent of its calories are derived from fat.(18)

USDA inspection reports reveal that an average of one in every eight Thanksgiving turkeys is infected with salmonella, a foodborne illness that sickens more than a million people a year and kills 500.(19)

What You Can Do

Spread some holiday joy to turkeys by sparing their lives. Look in supermarkets and health-food stores or on the Internet for Tofurky, Unturkey, Tofu Turkey, Native Foods’ Holiday Wellington, and other turkey alternatives, which are widely available. For more information on vegetarian holiday meals, call PETA toll-free at 1-888-VEG-FOOD or visit GoVeg.com.