What Turkey Producers Don’t Want You to Know, by Martha Rosenberg

When I interviewed a "live hanger" who worked at House of Raeford Farms turkey facility in Raeford, NC, he told me the turkeys arrive at the slaughterhouse with broken and dislocated limbs. When you try to remove them from their crates, their legs twist completely around, offering no resistance he told me. "The turkeys must be in a lot of pain but they don't cry out. The only sound you hear as you hang them is trucks being washed out to go back and get a new load." – Martha Rosenberg

Thanksgiving turkeys endure extreme suffering
(Image by Martha Rosenberg)

As "Turkey Day" approaches, animal lovers cringe, food safety advocates become vigilante and turkey producers hope you are not reading the news.

They hope you have forgotten that scientists at the Bloomberg School's Center for a Livable Future and Arizona State's Biodesign Institute found Tylenol, Benadryl, caffeine, statins and Prozac in feather meal samples that included U.S. turkeys: "a surprisingly broad spectrum of prescription and over-the-counter drugs," said study co-author Rolf Halden of Arizona State University.

They hope you have forgotten that ractopamine is still used in turkeys, the asthma-like growth enhancer to add muscle weight.

Here’s What Turkey Producers Don't Want You to Know

Martha Rosenberg is an award-winning journalist and animal advocate investigating public health with a focus on the pharmaceutical industry. She generously invited United Poultry Concerns to share this article with our supporters. On July 19, 2020, Martha was featured in the UPC podcast series Hope for the Animals in a revealing interview with Hope Bohanec. Listen here:

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