From Death Row to Dear Friend: PETA Shares Toby the Turkey’s Holiday Story

Make way, make way! Parents may be scrambling to add vegan options to their holiday feasts after seeing the highly anticipated Moana 2 opening ahead of Thanksgiving—thanks to a family-friendly holiday short from PETA running in movie theaters across the U.S. The spot—starring a beguiling little bird named Toby the turkey—shows audiences that turkeys feel joy, pain, and fear just as humans do, and may prompt naturally empathetic littles to take adults to task over Thanksgiving’s meaty main course. You can catch the festive ad here first:

Meet Toby the Turkey

This touching tale—made in collaboration with creative agency Dream Farm Studios—follows young Toby the turkey’s narrow escape from a slaughterhouse-bound truck.

Toby is lucky, unlike the 300 million turkeys slaughtered for food in the U.S. every year who will never know what it’s like to enjoy fresh air, sunshine, a satisfying meal, or a life free from exploitation.

The ad follows the news that former workers of Plainville Farms, a self-described “humane” turkey supplier, were recently charged with more than 140 counts of cruelty to animals after a PETA investigation. The horrors we exposed at Plainville Farms’ suppliers make it clear that no meat is “humane.” Even if you pay premiums at the grocery store, you’re still eating someone’s flesh.