Baby Turkey Stars in Stirring PETA Holiday Cartoon Airing in Waco

For Immediate Release:
December 21, 2022

Contact:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382

Move over, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer—here comes Toby the blue-snooded turkey! Toby is the star of PETA’s new holiday special spot, airing during Home Alone on ABC on Saturday. Playing in 46 cities nationwide as well as all over the U.K., the family-friendly video tells the story of little Toby’s escape—with help from his loving mother—from a truck bound for the slaughterhouse and how he winds up a at the table, not on it.

“Viewers will fall in love with Toby, who helps us remember that all turkeys are smart, curious individuals who love their families and that each one has a story that need not end on a fork,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA encourages everyone to protect these lovely birds by choosing a delicious vegan feast this holiday season.”

Turkeys raised for food are normally slaughtered when they’re between 14 and 18 weeks old, and approximately 22 million turkeys are killed each year for Christmas in the U.S. alone. Workers hang the young birds upside down, drag them through an electrified bath, slit their throats, and dump them into scalding-hot water in defeathering tanks—often while they’re still conscious. In addition to preventing nearly 200 animals a year from enduring daily suffering and a terrifying death, everyone who goes vegan shrinks their carbon footprint and slashes their risk of suffering from heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other ailments.

PETA’s video, which was produced in collaboration with creative agency Dream Farm Studios, will play during the film’s 7 p.m. airing.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.