5 GIFs That Prove There’s Nothing Happy About ‘Heritage’ Turkeys
Does this “heritage” turkey—who was injured, dying, and gasping for breath—look happy to you?
How about these, who died after panicking while being herded?
No, we can’t spot any happiness, either. Yet the folks at the Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch, where the PETA video footage above was captured, would have you believe that their “heritage poultry farm” raises “happy” turkeys.
“Happy” and “humane” meat labels are fiction, plain and simple.
For those who didn’t learn their lesson after we exposed Whole Foods’ “humanely raised” pork con, here’s a news flash: A “humanely raised” claim means nothing to the bird who faces the same 12-hour trip and slaughterhouse death that any other turkey used for food faces.
A suffering turkey raised for food doesn’t care that Vogue hyped “heritage” turkeys a few years back. Leaving sick, injured individuals on the ground to die is never in fashion.
The bird in the clip above (who wasn’t being cared for, despite having lost her left eye) wasn’t flattered that some folks consider “heritage” turkeys to be the most beautiful turkeys—she didn’t want to be served at Thanksgiving dinner, period.
And the two turkeys above being crammed into cages on a truck—where they were forced to stay for hours, without food or water, while en route to a slaughterhouse—certainly didn’t think anyone deserved a pat on the back for not buying a Butterball turkey.
At the slaughterhouse, “heritage” turkeys are shackled upside down and their throats are slit—just like the birds killed for Butterball.
If you feel good about purchasing a “heritage,” a “tiny,” a “humanely raised,” a “free-range,” or an “organic” turkey this Thanksgiving, you’re being fooled. Not only will you be contributing to the suffering that turkeys raised for food are forced to endure, you’ll also be paying extra to do so.
The only humane Thanksgiving meal is a vegan one.
If, prior to now, you were misled into believing that buying a “humanely raised” animal to serve is a kind thing to do—or if you’re one of the millennials who believes that buying a “tiny” turkey carcass this year is somehow better—please, rethink things. Do something that will actually give turkeys and other animals something to be thankful for this November:
We’re here to help, and we have plenty of resources to assist you.
