Tomorrow, millions of Americans will be indulging themselves with their annual Thanksgiving meals which, most likely, will include turkey. The president officially “pardoned Tater and Tot” yesterday. That’s only one out of 46 million turkeys who haven’t faced the same fate as those who end up on your plate. From the moment the eggs hatch until they are slaughtered, turkeys endure a horrible life.
Turkeys live on factory farms where they are bred to grow excessively in a span of four months. Male turkeys (Toms) are grown for their large breasts and grow to be three times larger than your average normal turkey. The excessive weight causes many problems for their legs to support them properly creating deformities and pain making walking difficult.
Living in a factory farm doesn’t allow an animal to move around, walk on grass and forces them to live in inhumane and cruel conditions. At any given time, 10,000 turkeys can be found in one packed building waiting to be slaughtered. The area of space for them to live in their very short lives is roughly 3 square feet. As their bodies expand unnaturally, the area lessens and they are forced to in ammonia-filled areas which causes respiratory problems for the birds.
Newly-born turkeys also endure having their beaks and toes cut off with a shears, a hot blade, or a high-voltage electrical current to eliminate hurting and killing each other due to the overcrowded conditions. 
They aren’t anesthetized for any of this. Some turkeys die because it is too painful to eat without having a beak.
After the eggs hatch in an incubator, they will be placed on turkey farms (factory) where they become sexually mature during the winter. The hens will then produce eggs that will become the turkeys eaten on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hens are bred by humans via artificial insemination because the males (Toms) are too large to mount the females. Their legs are shackled and hung upside down while a human inserts a syringe of semen. The Tom turkeys are manually stimulated for their semen. Breeding hens are bred repeatedly but must live in these horrendous conditions for a longer period of time.
Slaughtering occurs when the turkeys are approximately three to five months of age. They are the desired market(unnatural) weight at this age. They are packed into crates with transporting possibly involving long distances. The birds are deprived of food and water and forced to endure extreme temperatures and noises causing them stress. A number of them die on the way to the slaughterhouse.
Turkeys are not protected under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act which requires animals to be rendered insensible before shackling and slaughter. They can be and are treated inhumanely during the process of slaughtering. The ones who make it to the slaughterhouse alive are shackled upside down by their feet. Some are stunned using an electric bath but even this is unsuccessful with birds. Some aren’t stunned.
As the turkeys hang upside down shackled by their legs, their throats are slit by a blade. If the birds aren’t stunned, they will experience being placed into a tank of scalding hot water alive and conscious to rid them of their feathers.
I can’t contribute to this cruel practice of slaughtering turkeys. There are alternative free-range farms for turkeys with a more humane way of life and death.
Economic gains outweigh the humane treatment of animals. What a horrendous plight of how turkeys end up on your plate on Thanksgiving.
I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!
I am a vegan and haven’t eaten and don’t serve meat on Thanksgiving. I know what happens to turkeys. People should read your article to learn about the horrors of factory farming.
I don’t think many people understand how factory farms are so cruel. It is graphic to see a video of a slaughterhouse but people should see one at least once to know how animals are treated in factor farms.
Thank you.
The pardoning of the turkeys is really stupid since they ate turkey anyway. I get so disgusted with that bull. A joke. ?
It is silly to me too but it’s tradition. Perhaps, we need to start a new tradition.
Thanks.
Plus this happens all year long. How can we allow this to be anymore???
Unfortunately, people eat meat all year long and slaughterhouses continue to be inhumane and cruel. We need to keep educating people about factory farming and slaughterhouses and give them alternative resources.
Thank you.
Factory farming is big business and the one and only goal is profit. What happens to the animals doesn’t matter to the operators or workers. Some enjoy watching them suffer for fun. Sick bastards. You can’t videotape for undercover investigating anymore since lawmakers passed legislation barring it. Let’s protect the abusers and let the cruelty continue. What a backwards state of mind.
I haven’t eaten meat for many years and I happily say that. My family doesn’t understand but I don’t care. I won’t contribute to the heinous slaughtering of any animal. They’re born to die to be on someone’s plate. I know we will never have a vegan society but we need a more humane way of how we treat animals who are destined to be slaughtered. So Obama “pardons” Tater and Tot but he had turkey for Thanksgiving. That is so hypocritical. Every president does this so I’m not just picking on our current president. It’s stupid in my eyes to do this. People find it funny and have no problems with the way some animals are still alive when being killed slowly. They suffer tremendously when they’re not killed instantly. People who work at the slaughterhouses are affected forever by what they’ve done. Some of the people, that is. Now we’re not allowed video camera in these places to document the cruelty that is inflicted upon the innocent animals meant for food.
I’m glad what your family thinks of you not eating meat doesn’t matter to you because it shouldn’t. We each have to make our own decisions and do what’s right for us. Keep your beliefs as long as they don’t hurt others. Maybe you’ll be able to convince your family not to eat meat through your actions. One can hope.
Thanks.
If you really need to have turkey go to a free-range turkey farm. But there are so many other vegan foods available to take its place at the table.
No turkey for me! Vegetable dishes and loved them!
Eating any meat is cruel to animals. Factory farming is the biggest and cruelest industry against animals anywhere. Billions suffer and are killed painfully before they arrive on your plate. They are born to die. They never have a chance at freedom. Ever. They are treated miserably and inhumanely and that’s putting mildly, just so you can eat. I don’t know how anyone can eat meat knowing how the animals suffer at the hands of those who treat them horribly. They are scared. They smell death. They know what awaits them. They prodded, poked, thrown, jabbed, hit, smacked by workers. How can YOU eat these animals?
More of them will be eaten for Christmas. Then pork for New Year’s. It never ends. The torture of animals.