One in a thousand or one in a million?
(de Nederlandse versie van het verhaal van de kalkoen is hier te lezen)
This turkey was found by us on the main road to our supermarket. As we drove past it I saw something white sticking out of the grass. The creature was panting from the heat. It was a very hot summer's day.
When I picked her up on her wings, one of her legs was dangling from underneath her heavy body. And I felt something moist on her belly. With the turkey on my lap we went straight back home. Then I noticed little creatures crawling down my legs. The poor bird was covered in maggots.
It was obvious. This was a factory farmed turkey, that must have fallen out of the container on the way to the slaughter plant. But before, it must have dangled outside the truck for a while before she actually fell on the side of the road.
She was taken to the vet. But unfortunately she could not be saved. When we put her on the table we noticed that not only her leg was broken, but the leg was torn out of her body and her stomach was open. The open wound of her abdomen was dead and full of maggots. The poor bird had been lying next to this road for a couple of days, in the heat, without water.
These photos were taken a day after she was put down. What you can see is not only the open wound, but also the damaged feathers and her bare tummy from lying in her own dirt, which is a serious welfare issue in factory farming.
We wrote a complaint letter to the local inspection. They promised to put forward the issue in their meeting and they were going to inform the inspectors at the slaughterhouses to check whether they are using crates that are damaged. Apparently it is only there that they have vets inspecting the unloading of poultry.
If you want to know more about how turkey farms work, please read this article written by the BBC.
And read more about the welfare issues for turkeys on the CIWF website.
A Farm Sanctuary investigation into the inner
workings of a typical turkey artificial insemination facility. Source: Farm Sanctuary
Film of Compassion in World Farming: Conditions in an intensive turkey farm
