Turkey Exploitation
An Animal Exploitation Photo Journal and Gallery Presentation from All-Creatures.org
This all creatures animal exploitation photo gallery about turkeys is being presented to show the public the difference between the cute little animals we see in advertising and picture in our minds and the reality that exists in the world.
Table of Contents
Wishful Thinking
Reality
| Turkey - Hatchery | Turkey - Hatchery Sorting | Turkey - Hatchery Mutilations | Turkey - Hatchery Disposal | Turkey - Unit | Turkey - Bad Eye and Debeaked | Turkey - Cruelty | Male Turkey | Turkey - Transport | Turkey - Slaughter | Turkey - End of Life | Turkey - Free Range Myth | Turkey - Hunting |
Turkey Hatchery
(Turkey - Hatchery - 01) Turkey eggs from breeder farms are collected and
sent to hatcheries where they are incubated in temperature-controlled rooms.
In the United States more than 250 million turkeys are slaughter every year
for human consumption, and as you will see in the following photos, many
more die before they ever reach their slaughter age of 6 months.
(Turkey - Hatchery - 02)
After a few weeks, eggs are transferred into metal
trays where chicks will hatch. Those who hatch early are sometimes left for
up to three days.
(Turkey - Hatchery - 03) Some chicks are manually removed from the trays
and dumped into plastic containers. There is no gentleness or
compassion here! Newly hatched turkey chicks, like these are simply
dropped into the tray three feet below. To us, such an act seems to
express deliberate and sadistic cruelty.
(Turkey - Hatchery - 04)
The rest of the chicks are kept in the trays and
carted off to a machine where they will be mechanically sorted from the cracked egg shells.
(Turkey - Hatchery - 05)
Hundreds of thousands of chicks are hatched in this facility each week.
(Turkey - Hatchery - 06) Overall, more than 252 million turkeys are raised
for food in the U.S. each year.
Turkey Hatchery Sorting
(Turkey - Hatchery Sorting - 01)
Trays of birds are pushed into a sorting machine.
(Turkey - Hatchery Sorting - 02)
The trays are then turned upside down,
and the chicks fall onto the moving sorter.
(Turkey - Hatchery Sorting - 03)
The machine separates chicks to one side
and cracked egg shells are dumped in a disposal bin. If someone had
deliberately set out to design a machine to torment and torture the living
feeling souls, they could not have built a better machine.
(Turkey - Hatchery Sorting - 04)
Some chicks are mis-sorted and end up
being dumped in the disposal bin along with the egg shells. There
certainly doesn't seem to be any concern for the welfare of these turkey
chicks. They are not even considered to be living beings; to them they
are nothing by "production units" to be dealt with anyway they have to in
order to make the most money.
(Turkey - Hatchery Sorting - 05)
Other chicks are tossed from the trays during processing.
(Turkey - Hatchery Sorting - 06)
Some chicks get caught in the equipment.
(Turkey - Hatchery Sorting - 07)
Many chicks become mangled from the machinery, and die an agonizing death.
(Turkey - Hatchery Sorting - 08)
Our investigator thought this mangled
bird was dead before realizing he was still breathing. The horrors of
animal agriculture go on and on! And, everyone who buys their products
contributes to the suffering.
(Turkey - Hatchery Sorting - 09)
Injured chicks are often left suffering for hours, and many die from their wounds.
(Turkey - Hatchery Sorting - 10)
Some chicks get stuck in the machinery.
(Turkey - Hatchery Sorting - 11)
Other chicks are processed in the sorter before fully hatching from their shells.
(Turkey - Hatchery Sorting - 12)
These chicks are known in the industry as "hatch debris.
Turkey Hatchery Mutilations
(Turkey - Hatchery Mutilation - 01)
Some chicks have their snoods ripped off their heads.
(Turkey - Hatchery Mutilation - 02)
Chicks' rear toes are sometimes cut off with scissors.
(Turkey - Hatchery Mutilation - 03)
This is generally done to minimize
damage caused by stress-induced aggression while on the farm. Humans
cause the problem, but blame the turkeys in an effort to try to excuse the
mutilations and excruciating pain they cause these babies.
(Turkey - Hatchery Mutilation - 04)
Chicks are roughly handled and tossed around during this process.
(Turkey - Hatchery Mutilation - 05)
Chicks are also hung upside down and
the tips of their front three toes are exposed to microwave radiation,
killing the tissue. In essence, they are cooking the chick's toes
while they are fully conscious.
(Turkey - Hatchery Mutilation - 06)
After exposure, their toes turn white
and the tips will eventually shrivel up and fall off.
(Turkey - Hatchery Mutilation - 07)
Chicks are also hung by their heads and the tips of their beaks are exposed to high intensity infrared light.
(Turkey - Hatchery Mutilation - 08)
Chicks are generally debeaked to
minimize damage caused by stress-induced pecking while on the farm.
Again, the turkeys are blamed for human cruelty.
(Turkey - Hatchery Mutilation - 09)
While hanging, they are spun around
the machine and will be dumped into containers below. If you wonder
why we are vegans, these photos should help answer the question...We refuse
to put our money in the pockets of the industries that cause these atrocities.
Turkey Hatchery Disposal
(Turkey - Hatchery Disposal - 01)
After birds are sorted from the shells,
some are placed inside plastic bags to be later sent for testing. And
remember that these are living, breathing, and feeling beings.
(Turkey - Hatchery Disposal - 02)
With live birds inside, the bag is tied
closed. They do this with full knowledge that these living chicks will
slowly suffocate to death.
(Turkey - Hatchery Disposal - 03)
Several bags of birds are collected each day chicks are hatched.
(Turkey - Hatchery Disposal - 04)
These birds are fully conscious, but no
one in the death dealing industry cares that these chicks are struggling for
a breath of fresh air.
(Turkey - Hatchery Disposal - 05)
The chicks gasp for air as they slowly die of suffocation.
(Turkey - Hatchery Disposal - 06)
Other chicks, some deemed "surplus" and
some suffering from injuries, are dumped in the same disposal bin as the egg
shells. The more that human beings become detached from the disposal
of any life, the more they justify the disposal of other life, even their own babies.
(Turkey - Hatchery Disposal - 07)
Sometimes hundreds of chicks are discarded in a single day.
(Turkey - Hatchery Disposal - 08)
The unwanted chicks are disposed of like trash.
Turkey Unit (Factory Farm Building)
(Turkey - Unit - 05)
These young turkeys recently have been placed in a
large building of a factory farm, called a unit. They have been raised
in an incubator without any love or care from a mother.
(Turkey - Unit - 06)
At this young age, the turkeys appear to have plenty of
room to move around, even if they can't go outside and enjoy God's creation.
However, this extra space will soon disappear.
(Turkey - Unit - 07)
As these turkeys continue to grow, the free space begins
to disappear; for these farmers put just enough turkeys in this building so
that when they are fully grown, they are packed solid.
(Turkey - Unit - 08)
Although these turkeys are still very young, the
factory farm building is already quite crowded. Think of how we would
feel with this many people around us every moment of every day, and we may
begin to feel what these turkeys are experiencing.
(Turkey - Unit - 09)
Up until this time, some people might say that these
turkeys are being treated humanely; but intent is more telling than
appearances. We believe a more accurate description is "delayed
premeditated cruelty."
(Turkey - Unit - 10)
By this time, the young turkeys are so crowded together
that they can't move around without rubbing against one another.
(Turkey - Unit - 1)
There is no family or community life for these turkeys
who are crowded together in such factory "units" containing as many as
25,000 birds. There is only frustration! Think of how we would
feel in such conditions, and we might come close to the reality of what
these turkeys suffer every day of their lives
(Turkey - Unit - 2) The foreground turkeys in this photo have been
illuminated by the flash on the camera. The remainder of the crowded
"unit" is in near darkness to keep the turkeys from becoming too
"aggressive" which is a direct result of of these unnatural living conditions.
If we lived in such conditions our frustration would most likely turn into
aggression, too. The way these turkeys are being treated is piling one
evil upon another. And every time we eat a turkey's flesh we
contribute to this nightmare.
(Turkey - Unit - 3)
At least in this turkey warehouse unit there is some
natural lighting, but the turkeys are allocated only three square feet of
space each. This is quite small when we consider the large size of
turkeys.
(Turkey - Unit - 4)
The turkeys in this factory warehouse unit are packed
together wall to wall. From looking at this picture, it is very likely
that these living, feeling, and social beings have less than three square
feet of space each. They are being deprived of their God-given right to enjoy life.
Turkey - Bad Eye and Debeaked
(Turkey - Bad Eye and Debeaked)
This photo shows how evil some human beings
can be. A portion of the upper beak of this turkey was cut off with a
red-hot knife as a way of curbing the turkey's aggressive tendencies.
In the natural state, turkeys are never this aggressive. Humans make
the turkeys aggressive and then debeak them to stop the aggression.
Only humans can devise such evil! Furthermore, this turkey has
suffered an eye injury or disease that has gone untreated. Think of
how much it hurts when we get a little speck in our eye, and we might
understand the degree of suffering that this turkey has been forced to
endure day after day. Stop this cruelty! Stop eating turkeys!
Turkey Cruelty
(Turkey - Cruelty - 1)
This photo speaks for itself. We may be
humans, but most of us are not humane if we allow such conditions to exist.
Every time we eat or buy turkey flesh or by-products, we contribute to this horror.
(Turkey - Cruelty - 2)
Perhaps this turkey's death was a blessing, for her
suffering is over, unlike the millions of other turkeys on factory farms who
have to continue to suffer until they are killed in a slaughterhouse to
satisfy human lust.
(Turkey - Cruelty - 3)
Farmed animals are considered commodities and not
living and feeling beings with emotions and needs like ours. They only
consider the economics of raising them for food: it is cheaper to allow this
kind of pain, suffering and eventual death for a certain percentage of
turkeys, than it is to provide proper medical care.
(Turkey - Cruelty - 4)
The living and the dead! Economically, a
certain number are expendable! As long as we eat turkeys, this
nightmare will continue. If these three animals were our companions,
we would be terribly upset with the death of one of them; but because they
are "food", we are indifferent to their death. This is insanity!
Perhaps, we need to considered how similar a dog's hind leg feels compared
to a turkey's thigh?
(Turkey - Cruelty - 5)
Think of how much pain we would be in if this much
of our body was raw and bloody, then we should also understand how much pain
this turkey is in. To allow this is inhuman. To do nothing about
it is depraved. To buy and eat turkeys is to contribute to this
continual atrocity.
Male Turkey
(Turkey - Male)
This is a male breeding turkey. He's not very
attractive with partially removed beak and disheveled feathers; but that
doesn't matter with these farmed animals, because this guy will never come
in contact with a female turkey. Instead, he is masturbated three
times a week by a human farm worker to collect his sperm which is used to
artificially inseminate female turkeys in a process that is really rape.
In our opinion, what humans do to these birds is an abomination before God,
for in reality they are having a form of sexual relationship with the turkeys.
Turkey Transport
(Turkey - Transport)
These are turkeys that have been "packed" into a
shipping container for transport to a slaughterhouse. At no time in
their miserable lives do these turkeys have a moment's peace. Why?
In order to satisfy the human lust for cheap flesh.
Turkey Slaughter
(Turkey - Slaughter)
These turkeys have just been unloaded from the
transport containers and hung upside down in shackles on their way into the
slaughterhouse. They are crying out in fear and pain as they await
their own slaughter.
Turkey - End of Life
(Turkey - End of Life)
A turkey shackled upside down in a slaughterhouse.
They are supposed to be stunned so that they feel no pain before their
throats are cut; but from what we have come to understand, this is not
always the case. More recent investigations have even come to the
conclusion that only the muscles are paralyzed, leaving the turkeys fully
conscious to pain.
Turkey - Free Range Myth
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 01)
According to the United States Department of
Agriculture, the single condition for the term free-range is that birds have
access to the outdoors. This does not mean that the turkeys have free
access to pasture land, as can be seen in this photo. We believe that
this is a deceptive practice against the American consumer. In 2004,
East Bay
Animal Advocates conducted an investigative rescue at a free-range turkey farm in
Northern California. The following images reveal the conditions on a free-range farm.
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 02)
"Consumers can really be fooled," Mary
Pitman, owner of Mary's Free-Range Turkeys, explains. "Some farms can
qualify for free range, but they raise [turkeys] in the same conditions as
industrial farms." From what we have learned, this "fooling" of the
public is more the rule of the trade than the exception. Turkeys
suffer, feel pain, and want to live just as much as we do. So...Don't Eat Them!
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 03)
This photograph shows the pen areas for the
turkey flocks. No turkeys are shown outside. Note how short the
shadows are. This means that this photo was taken near mid day, when
one would expect truly free range turkeys to be outside. Be
compassionate - Don't eat turkeys or other animals.
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 04)
In this photo we have a closer look at the empty outside pen.
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 05)
A portion of baby turkeys' beaks and toes
are severed without the aid of anesthesia. We believe that to do this
to any living being is an abomination before God. Don't support this
cruelty! Don't eat animals!
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 06)
Within the first few weeks of life, poult
(baby turkey) mortality rate is extremely high. From our own
observations, even in the wild, baby turkeys seem to have a much better
survival rate. God gave them the right to live and enjoy their lives.
Humans do not have a moral right to take that away.
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 07)
Thousands of free-range turkeys are raised
in a single warehouse-like structure (known as a grow-out shed), forced to
stand on accumulated fecal waste and breathe in ammonia fumes. When
left the way God intended turkeys to be, they have a wonderful and close
family life. It is not human to deprive them of this gift from God.
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 08) Manure exposure and insect consumption can
contribute to increased bacteria levels. We have learned that most of
these farmed animals are routinely fed antibiotics to counteract bacterial
infections. This overuse causes mutant bacterial, and potential risk
to human health.
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 09) Like their conventionally-raised cousins,
free-range turkeys are typically bred to grow at an unnaturally rapid rate,
resulting in permanent health problems for birds.
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 10) Wild turkeys can live for nearly twenty
years. However, their domesticated counterparts do not usually survive
longer than two years. The turkey photographed above died at ten weeks of
age. Humans are to be the caretakers of animals and not their dominant
abusers. Don't support the cruelty! Don't eat animals!
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 11) Free-range turkeys are slaughtered between
14 and 25 weeks of age. This is only about 5% of the lifespan God gave
turkeys. In human terms, it's like killing and eating 4 year old human
babies. All live is precious. Let us learn to respect it and
preserve it to the best of our ability
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 12) USDA guidelines do not regulate the amount
of time birds spend outdoors, which fosters a lot of abuse to the term "free
range". However, rather than trying to regulate the free range
industry, why not be compassionate and stop eating our fellow creatures.
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 13) University of California-Davis poultry
specialist, Ralph Ernst reports: "Most free-range birds are still fenced in
corrals, though people like to imagine the birds are out roaming the range.
They're not out exercising. These birds are raised much like the regular
turkeys." This is why we believe "free range" is a myth.
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 14)
Many turkeys die on the way to slaughter.
The industry does not care for turkeys as living feeling animals. They
are treated as commodities that need to be handled and shipped the least
expensive way. Don't become a part of this cruelty! Don't eat
turkeys, or any other animals.
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 15) Dead turkeys are considered trash; an
operational loss factor that is part of the expected operation. This
dumpster full of turkeys will end up in the rendering plant.
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 16) Turkeys are transported via multi-tiered,
flat-bed trucks in overcrowded wire cages, enduring all types of weather
conditions. Arriving at the slaughterhouse, the fully-conscious birds are
hung by their legs and their throats are slashed. The Humane Slaughter Act
and Animal Welfare Act exempt turkeys from legal protection.
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 17) Partial beak amputation can be performed on
organic turkey flocks. Ian J.H. Duncan, a professor of Poultry Ethology at
the University of Guelph in Canada, says "the idea of beak trimming being a
short-lived discomfort for the bird may be far from accurate. The short and
long-term changes in behavior, particularly the substantial decrease in
activities involving the beak and the increase in inactivity particularly in
the first week after the operation, suggests that the birds are suffering
severe pain."
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 18) These rescued poults were victims of partial
beak and toe amputation. We don't understand how so many people who
claim to believe in God can be a part of, or be indifferent to the pain and
suffering that is inflicted on these birds. If you don't want to be a
part of the atrocity, don't eat animals.
(Turkey - Free Range Myth - 19) In this photo we can see the mutilated beak
and feet of this baby turkey. Speak out against these cruel practices.
Don't eat animals! See our cruelty free
Thanksgiving and
other recipes.
Turkey - Hunting
(Turkey - Hunting - 01) From time to time, we receive photos and comments
from hunters who gloat over their killing, like this one from 24 Nov 2005.
Philip Lewer even tries to justify his love of killing from a Christian
perspective: "I must say that God has designed man to hunt and had him rule
over the creatures of the earth as well as ensure their liveliness. When I
hunt, I thank God for giving me a fruitful harvest and I am assured that my
game is pure." This is a distorted Christian view that is straight
from hell. Which of the Beatitudes would Jesus use to bless these
killers? None, for this act is totally counter to His teachings.
What can I do?
Turkey Articles
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