Tickets, Turkeys—or Tofurkys? PETA Offers Vegan Roasts for Police Giveaway

Fort Worth Police Could Serve Meat-Free Entrées and Protect Animals and Residents’ Health

For Immediate Release:
November 21, 2016

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

Following reports that the Fort Worth Police Department handed out frozen turkeys instead of tickets to drivers in the run-up to Thanksgiving, PETA sent a letter today offering to donate vegan Tofurky roasts for the department to give away.

In the letter, PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—notes that Tofurky roasts, which are free of saturated animal fat and cholesterol, will especially appeal to the growing numbers of Texans who are going vegan to protect their health, save animals, and help the environment.

“When people learn that smart, sensitive turkeys are electrocuted and that their throats are slit for Thanksgiving dinner, they’re eager to try a healthy, humane vegan holiday meal,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “By gobbling up PETA’s offer of delicious Tofurky roasts, the Fort Worth Police Department can give everyone something to be thankful for.”

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

PETA’s letter to Joel Fitzgerald, Fort Worth chief of police, follows.

November 21, 2016

Joel Fitzgerald

Chief of Police

Fort Worth Police Department

Dear Chief Fitzgerald,

I’m writing on behalf of PETA and our more than 5 million members and supporters worldwide—including thousands across Texas—in response to reports that the Fort Worth Police Department was handing out frozen turkeys instead of tickets to motorists who committed minor traffic violations. I’d like to make an offer that will really give Texans something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving: We’d like to help you serve (up a vegan holiday dinner) and protect (residents’ health) by donating delicious, cholesterol-free vegan Tofurky roasts for you to hand out to drivers—including those who do not eat meat during the holidays for religious, ethical, or environmental reasons or because they know how cruel factory farming and the slaughter of turkeys really are.

Turkeys are smart, sensitive birds who have been known to enjoy clucking along to music and love to have their feathers stroked. In nature, babies stay with their mothers for up to five months, and they like to eat meals together as a family, much as humans do on Thanksgiving. But in today’s slaughterhouses, fully conscious turkeys are shackled upside down and their heads are dragged through an electrified stun bath, in which currents shoot through their bodies, causing spasms, burns, and fractures. Many birds are stunned improperly and are still conscious as their throats are slit and when they’re immersed in scalding-hot water to remove their feathers.

At its core, Thanksgiving is about appreciation and kindness, and many traditional holiday foods are plant-based. Since 6 percent of Americans identify as vegan and millions of people now enjoy a compassionate, meat-free holiday for a variety of reasons, it makes sense to give turkeys arrest this Thanksgiving.

We hope you’ll gobble up our offer. If so, please let me know where we can send the Tofurky roasts. Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully,

Kathy Guillermo

Senior Vice President