Turkeys
the victims of Thanksgiving and Christmas
Inhumane Treatment
at Turkey Industry’s Largest Hatchery in the U.S.
|
|
New HSUS investigation exposes abuse
For 11 days in October 2010, an HSUS investigator worked inside a Willmar Poultry Company turkey hatchery—the largest turkey hatchery in the country, hatching 30 million poults (young turkeys) every year. It delivers 600,000 of these baby turkeys to customers every week. A Willmar Poultry Company human resources worker told the HSUS investigator that 50 percent of whole turkeys available in typical U.S. grocery stores were hatched at the company. |
The investigator documented multiple abuses including:
Read a full report on the investigation.
- Grinding animals alive. Sick, deformed, and injured birds - as well as healthy animals who are "leftovers" not needed for buyers' orders—are killed by being thrown into grinding machines.
- Mutilations without pain relief. Workers amputate parts of turkeys’ toes and snoods without any painkillers and jam their heads into a machine that sears parts of their beaks off with lasers - also without painkillers.
- Abandoned birds left to suffer. Sick and injured poults are tossed into plastic bins or left abandoned and suffering on the floor through the day until they're thrown down a chute into the jaws of a grinding machine.
- Sick and injured animals. Birds suffer from broken necks, missing eyes, and bleeding wings and legs. Injured and deformed poults are tossed into boxes and left to suffer.
Read a full report on the investigation.
Turkeys are crammed into dark warehouses, where they lie and stand in their own excrement. Sick and often dead flock-mates also lie under their feet. They have virtually no space to move and exhibit natural behaviors. They resort to pecking and fighting because of the over-crowded and stressful conditions. Factory farms often remove portions of their beaks and toes, to minimize injury. This is all done without anesthesia. They often suffer injuries-broken bones and wounds- that are left untreated.
Not only the conditions make it a struggle to stand. They are now bred to grow larger and faster than nature intended. They are fed high-calorie diets and are genetically altered to have extremely large breasts that make their bodies so large it is sometimes impossible for their legs to withstand the weight. This is all for the high consumer demand for breast meat. The result is devastating to the health of the bird, who will commonly suffer from heart disease and leg injuries. They have been so genetically altered that the only way for them to reproduce is solely by artificial insemination. They cannot mount and reproduce naturally with their now unnatural, scientifically enhanced bodies.
They are shipped to slaughterhouses in crates, in the backs of open trucks, where they are subjected to the elements with no protection from extreme heat or cold. Many will freeze to death, or die of suffocation or heat stroke. Unloaded by conveyor belts, some birds will fall to the ground and die from exposure or starvation or maybe they will get crushed by equipment and vehicles. They are not picked up by workers, who have to move fast to get them to the slaughterhouse in a rushed manor.
The ones that make it to the slaughterhouse are no better off. They are fully conscience while being hung from their legs and feet with metal shackles. They are sometimes stunned before slaughter, dipped in an electrified water bath. Because of the rushed atmosphere, some birds are not in the tank long enough. Many are not stunned and are still conscience as they move along the assembly line. Some are still moving and struggling while a mechanical blade slits their throats. Reeling from pain, some of these animals are still, although barely, alive when they reach the scalding tank, the next station in the assembly line. They are then submerged in boiling water. Many struggling birds are missed by the blade and are thus boiled alive. This is so common, affecting millions of birds each year, that the industry has a term for this. “Redskins” is what they call the birds that are boiled alive.
Turkeys are neglected, mutilated, and die a horrible death all so they can be the centerpiece on our tables and we can gorge ourselves on the carcass of a sentient being that endured an unfathomable gruesome fate.
Source
Not only the conditions make it a struggle to stand. They are now bred to grow larger and faster than nature intended. They are fed high-calorie diets and are genetically altered to have extremely large breasts that make their bodies so large it is sometimes impossible for their legs to withstand the weight. This is all for the high consumer demand for breast meat. The result is devastating to the health of the bird, who will commonly suffer from heart disease and leg injuries. They have been so genetically altered that the only way for them to reproduce is solely by artificial insemination. They cannot mount and reproduce naturally with their now unnatural, scientifically enhanced bodies.
They are shipped to slaughterhouses in crates, in the backs of open trucks, where they are subjected to the elements with no protection from extreme heat or cold. Many will freeze to death, or die of suffocation or heat stroke. Unloaded by conveyor belts, some birds will fall to the ground and die from exposure or starvation or maybe they will get crushed by equipment and vehicles. They are not picked up by workers, who have to move fast to get them to the slaughterhouse in a rushed manor.
The ones that make it to the slaughterhouse are no better off. They are fully conscience while being hung from their legs and feet with metal shackles. They are sometimes stunned before slaughter, dipped in an electrified water bath. Because of the rushed atmosphere, some birds are not in the tank long enough. Many are not stunned and are still conscience as they move along the assembly line. Some are still moving and struggling while a mechanical blade slits their throats. Reeling from pain, some of these animals are still, although barely, alive when they reach the scalding tank, the next station in the assembly line. They are then submerged in boiling water. Many struggling birds are missed by the blade and are thus boiled alive. This is so common, affecting millions of birds each year, that the industry has a term for this. “Redskins” is what they call the birds that are boiled alive.
Turkeys are neglected, mutilated, and die a horrible death all so they can be the centerpiece on our tables and we can gorge ourselves on the carcass of a sentient being that endured an unfathomable gruesome fate.
Source
Forty-five million “Broad Breasted Whites” as they are known are eaten by U.S. citizens every year on Thanksgiving, but few of those people will ever know the suffering these birds endured to reach their tables.
These beautiful birds have been genetically manipulated over the years to grow rapidly and have enlarged and unnaturally exaggerated breasts. The result is a multitude of health and mobility issues including inability to fly or to breed (they must be artificially inseminated, or the males would crush the females) and, in some cases, to even walk. Turkeys are raised in high-density, indoor confinement containing thousands of birds to a building and often have their toes cut off to prevent injury if there is fighting in the tight overcrowding. These windowless warehouses where the birds must live in day in and day out have poor sanitation and can have an overwhelming stench of ammonia.
As society is becoming more aware of the plight of factory farmed turkeys, some people are buying “humane” or “organic” turkeys. While this is an honorable pursuit, most people don’t realize that these farms are not much better than a factory farm. The turkeys might have access to the outside, but they are still overcrowded and may also be left outside in extremes of weather with no shelter. They still come from the same inhumane industrial hatchery where they never knew their mothers, and go to the same frightening slaughterhouse for a bloody and brutal death as a factory-farmed turkey. Birds are exempt from the Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act so there are no regulations to ease their suffering.
If we want to truly give thanks, we should thank the earth for the life, resources, and delicious plant food it provides. It takes approximately 10 pounds of vegetables to make 1 pound of turkey, so we are wasting precious water, land, and fossil fuels and creating greenhouse gasses by eating meat. If we are sincerely grateful for the abundant and excessive amount of food available to us, we should eat a plant-based Thanksgiving meal, as a greater number of people could be fed with the grain that we feed the animals. Of course there are numerous faux meat options such as Tofurky and Field Roast. And any customary Thanksgiving dessert recipe can be easily veganized with a few substitutions.
Please show your gratitude to the earth, your health, and the turkeys this year and start a new tradition of compassion with a vegan Thanksgiving.
Source
These beautiful birds have been genetically manipulated over the years to grow rapidly and have enlarged and unnaturally exaggerated breasts. The result is a multitude of health and mobility issues including inability to fly or to breed (they must be artificially inseminated, or the males would crush the females) and, in some cases, to even walk. Turkeys are raised in high-density, indoor confinement containing thousands of birds to a building and often have their toes cut off to prevent injury if there is fighting in the tight overcrowding. These windowless warehouses where the birds must live in day in and day out have poor sanitation and can have an overwhelming stench of ammonia.
As society is becoming more aware of the plight of factory farmed turkeys, some people are buying “humane” or “organic” turkeys. While this is an honorable pursuit, most people don’t realize that these farms are not much better than a factory farm. The turkeys might have access to the outside, but they are still overcrowded and may also be left outside in extremes of weather with no shelter. They still come from the same inhumane industrial hatchery where they never knew their mothers, and go to the same frightening slaughterhouse for a bloody and brutal death as a factory-farmed turkey. Birds are exempt from the Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act so there are no regulations to ease their suffering.
If we want to truly give thanks, we should thank the earth for the life, resources, and delicious plant food it provides. It takes approximately 10 pounds of vegetables to make 1 pound of turkey, so we are wasting precious water, land, and fossil fuels and creating greenhouse gasses by eating meat. If we are sincerely grateful for the abundant and excessive amount of food available to us, we should eat a plant-based Thanksgiving meal, as a greater number of people could be fed with the grain that we feed the animals. Of course there are numerous faux meat options such as Tofurky and Field Roast. And any customary Thanksgiving dessert recipe can be easily veganized with a few substitutions.
Please show your gratitude to the earth, your health, and the turkeys this year and start a new tradition of compassion with a vegan Thanksgiving.
Source
Undercover investigation by Mercy for Animals exposes shocking cruelty at
Butterball turkey facility... again!
Less than a year after a Mercy For Animals undercover investigation into a Butterball turkey facility led to five workers being charged with criminal cruelty to animals, a new investigation shows that animal abuse continues to run rampant at Butterball factory farms.
In October of 2012, an MFA investigator documented a pattern of shocking abuse and neglect at numerous Butterball turkey operations in North Carolina, including:
- workers kicking and stomping on birds, dragging them by their fragile wings and necks, and maliciously 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.
Dr. Greg Burkett, poultry welfare scientist and adjunct professor of avian medicine and surgery at North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine, lent his expert review to MFA's hidden-camera footage. Dr. Burkett, who also accompanied Hoke County law enforcement officials during a raid at a Butterball turkey factory farm last year, stated of the video:
"The abuses shown in this video are identical to the abuses documented in last year's Butterball investigation which led to criminal cruelty to animals charges and convictions. These behaviors are cruel, inhumane, and injurious to the birds. I am appalled at the disrespect these workers have toward the lives of other living creatures."
Dr. Sara Shields, a research scientist, poultry specialist, and consultant in animal welfare, said that this new investigation is "especially concerning" and that "under no circumstances is it acceptable to use violent force to move animals."
Following the investigation, MFA immediately went to law enforcement with extensive video footage and a detailed legal complaint outlining the culture of cruelty at Butterball. Law enforcement is investigating.
Unfortunately, the lives of turkeys in Butterball's factory farms are short, brutal, and filled with fear, violence, and constant suffering. While wild turkeys are sleek, agile, and able to fly, Butterball's turkeys have been selectively bred to grow so large, so quickly, that many of them suffer from painful bone defects, hip joint lesions, crippling foot and leg deformities, and fatal heart attacks.
Even though domestic turkeys have been genetically manipulated for enormous growth, these birds still retain their gentle, inquisitive, and social natures. Oregon State University poultry scientist Dr. Tom Savage says that turkeys are "smart animals with personality and character, and keen awareness of their surroundings."
In fact, animal behaviorists, veterinarians, and scientists agree that turkeys are sensitive and intelligent animals with their own unique personalities, much like the dogs and cats we all know and love.
As the world's largest producer of turkey meat, Butterball is responsible for 20 percent of the 252 million turkeys raised and killed for food each year in the United States, and 30 percent of the 46 million turkeys who are killed for Thanksgiving.
Thankfully, each of us can help prevent the needless suffering of turkeys at the hands of Butterball by making informed choices.
This year, give the turkeys a reason to be thankful by carving out a new Thanksgiving tradition and digging in to any number of delicious vegetarian, turkey-free alternatives.
Source: Mercy for Animals
Pardon a turkey this year by celebrating the holidays with compassionate plant-based cuisine.
Click here for savory and sweet holiday meal ideas...
Click here for savory and sweet holiday meal ideas...
