Happy Thanksgiving!

Or Friendsgiving…Thanksliving… Thanksvegan…or maybe this year we are all just grateful to be living?

Thursday will likely be celebrated differently for most, if not all of us. Instead of lots of family and/or friends gathered around a table full of food, we may be celebrating alone, or just within our household. No doubt it is important to stay healthy and keep our loved ones and community healthy as well, but this holiday may be more challenging for some than others. Possibly even lonely or sad. Or, maybe some are excited to have an excuse not to take part in the crazy day of food and festivities. But, whereever we are and however we may be feeling, it is an opportunity for us to give thanks and spend time being grateful for what we do have.

I don’t know about you, but since I was little whenever I heard “Thanksgiving”, a turkey came to mind. I even started referring to “the day” as “Turkey Day”, as if this was a day of celebrating turkeys? Turkey crafts, turkey decorations, everything turkey, often including the centerpiece of the dinner table. Holidays, traditions, food being the main focus, especially this one.

I met my first live turkey at Farm Sanctuary in Orland, CA October 2016, during my month long Internship. Within minutes I was in awe. Turkeys are hands down one of the coolest animals I have spent time with. Curious, smart, clever, playful, affectionate, family bonded, and beautiful. Upon first introduction, I witnessed how some enjoyed being gently massaged under their wings or softly stroked down their back, while I was in delight feeling their silky smooth feathers. They would purr and make pretty little sounds to show their affection or come cuddle up next to a trusted friend and sit for hours. They especially loved my watch and ring, and would curiously but gently peck at them when caught by the light. Male turkeys, Toms, have incredible plumage that make up a tail fan with greens, bronze, gold, copper, red, and purple feathers, that they love to show off, rightfully so! If you see a turkey all puffed up strutting around with his tail feathers fanned out, wings positioned perfectly by his sides, head held high, making lovely little sounds, I hope you’ll pay attention and show your appreciation. Their heads are magical like a mood ring, changing color with temperament. A turkey with a bright red head is feeling angry or aggressive, but when feeling excited or happy his head will turn blue, and if he is feeling neutral his head will be white. Female turkeys, Hens, are protective, loving mothers. When sitting on her eggs, she will not leave her nest for any reason, and once hatched, you have to get past mom in order to get to her little ones.

46 million of these smart, social birds are slaughtered each year in the United States for Thanksgiving alone.

Turkeys raised for human consumption are crowded into poorly ventilated industrial buildings, sometimes with as many as 10,000 birds packed into a single building, giving each turkey the space of a hand sized towel.

Commercial male turkeys are selectively bred to grow both as fast as possible and as big as possible, reaching market weight at just 4 months of age… which is roughly three times the weight of an adult male in the wild.

All reproduction of domestic turkeys is artificial insemination. With male turkeys bred to be so large, they are no longer able to naturally mate with a female. They have been bred to have such large chests they are too big to mount and would crush a female. They have also been artificially bred to be white, for the human’s preference of the color of their meat.

Due to the confined living space, and not wanting any of the turkeys to damage the meat of another, just days into a domestic turkeys life, they experience the ends of their beaks and toes being removed. Their beaks, much like our finger tips, are removed by using either a hot blade, shears, or electric current. The end of their toes being severed off with surgical shears. Both methods are routinely done with no pain reliever or anesthetic.

Due to the overcrowding and poor ventilation there are many health issues including respiratory damage, and irritated, swollen eyes from the dusty ammonia filled air. One worker can be responsible for 30,000 birds, so injury and illness easily goes unnoticed.

At 3-4 months old, after living in these conditions, they are crated and shipped for slaughter, where due to rough handling, many injuries occur, including dislocated hips and wing fractures. Thousands of birds die during transport due to long distances of travel with a lack of food and water, extreme temperatures, frightening noises, and unnerving motion.

The Humane Methods of Slaughter Act requires animals to be rendered insensible before slaughter, but the USDA does not interpret the law to include birds killed for food, therefore; it does not protect turkeys. So, just prior to slaughter, turkeys are often rendered immobile, but not unconscious by being drug through an electric water bath followed by their arteries being cut either by machine or a human, if they were missed by the machine.

As we may be wishing we were doing this holiday, turkeys also prefer to eat as a family or with their close friends. After dinner, flying into a nearby tree where they all roost together for the night.

Perhaps this is the year we can all embrace change and leave the turkey off the table.

Wishing you a day full of love and compassion.

~ Namaste

Sponsor a turkey this Thanksgiving instead of eating one?

https://www.pasadosafehaven.org/ways-to-give/sponsor-a-turkey/

https://www.farmsanctuary.org/turkeys/

Photo credit to my internship with FS in Orland, CA & attendance @ Animal Care Conference in Watkins Glen, NY

Resources: My internship with FS & https://www.farmsanctuary.org/turkeys/

For more info: https://www.farmsanctuary.org/turkeys/

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