Every Thanksgiving, I’m reminded of how thankful I am to know the truth about how turkeys are meant to live: free and safe from harm. 

The animal agriculture industry would like consumers of animal products to believe that turkeys are meant to be used and exploited. But during my time volunteering at my local farmed animal sanctuary, Wildwood Farm Sanctuary and Preserve, I’ve been able to see how wonderful, social and loving turkeys can be when they are free to live and be themselves. Not labeled as products in a cruel industry driven by profit and suffering.

Will you join me in standing up for turkeys this Thanksgiving?

Through my work managing Animal Outlook’s undercover investigations, I’ve seen how horrifically turkeys farmed for meat are treated in the animal agriculture industry. Our past investigation into a Hargin turkey breeding facility revealed that conditions on turkey farms are so unsanitary, turkeys often suffer from ailments including severe facial irritation that leaves scabs on their delicate skin and eye infections. Some also endure painful foot injuries, making it difficult for them to walk. Many farmed turkeys suffer from skeletal disease, organ failure or heart attacks due to being selectively bred to grow obese to produce more meat.

In the animal agriculture industry, turkeys are not free to engage in any natural behaviors. Female turkeys raised for breeding are not allowed to nurture their babies, as they are shackled upside down by workers who force plastic tubes inside them to inseminate them. Their eggs are taken away from them before they even hatch. If turkeys were able to live naturally, baby turkeys would spend most of their time with their mothers, learning to peck and groom themselves.

A previous Animal Outlook investigation at a hatchery owned by Foster Farms showed the terrible first days of life that baby turkeys experience instead of their mother’s love. At hatcheries, workers burn the baby birds’ sensitive beaks and toes burned off in a mutilation process known as debeaking and detoeing, a standard yet cruel practice in the poultry industry. One manager was documented during this investigation joking about “nose jobs” and “manicures”.

How can forcing these social and loving birds to endure so much pain and suffering for for one meal be acceptable? Will you help us to continue to expose the horrors forced upon turkeys and other farmed animals? All donations made between now and December 31 will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $125,000 thanks to an incredibly generous donor.

I truly appreciate the moments I can share with my partner when we spend time with turkeys at Wildwood Farm Sanctuary and Preserve. Much like our little family, turkeys talk to communicate and like spending time with each other. Their vocabulary consists of 28 distinct calls and each sound has a meaning. It is a wonderful gift to know that I am contributing not to their suffering, but to them being able to live free from pain and exploitation.