Animalscaretips
Thanksgiving day typically involves serving up a holiday feast fit for a king. But for the estimated 45 million turkeys killed each year as part of the celebration, there is little to be grateful for. And that's because many of these birds live a miserable existence, owing to the wrath of factory farming.
- How many turkeys get killed during Thanksgiving?
- How old are turkeys killed for Thanksgiving?
- How are turkey killed?
- Why should turkeys not be killed?
- When did turkeys almost go extinct?
- How are Butterball turkeys killed?
- What happens to turkeys in the slaughterhouse?
- Does turkey poison its meat?
- What diseases do turkeys carry?
- Why are turkeys eaten at Thanksgiving?
- Why do we not eat turkey eggs?
- How many turkeys are there now?
- Why are turkeys endangered?
How many turkeys get killed during Thanksgiving?
Like chickens, the estimated 245 million turkeys raised and killed for their flesh every year in the U.S. have no federal legal protection. More than 46 million of them are killed each year at Thanksgiving alone, and more than 22 million die at Christmas.
How old are turkeys killed for Thanksgiving?
Turkeys can live to be 10 years old, but are slaughtered at 14 to 18 weeks, about 2 percent of their natural life span.
How are turkey killed?
Many turkeys are slaughtered without being stunned at all. In the processing plant, turkeys are shackled by their legs and hung upside-down. The turkeys' throats are slit on a circular blade before being placed in a scalding tank meant to loosen feathers. If turkeys are not properly stunned, they often miss the blade.
Why should turkeys not be killed?
Experts warn that a virulent new strain of bird flu could spread to humans. Cooking a turkey can adequately kill bacteria and viruses, but even a little of what makes you ill can lurk on cutting boards and utensils and thus spread to hands or foods that won't be cooked.
When did turkeys almost go extinct?
By the time Thanksgiving became an official U.S. holiday in 1863, wild turkeys had nearly disappeared. But Depression-era shifts in land use helped the animals rebound. Before European settlers arrived in North America, there were millions of wild turkeys spread across what are now 39 U.S. states.
How are Butterball turkeys killed?
Butterball turkeys are killed using a process that involves hanging live birds by their legs, shocking them in electrified water so that they become paralyzed (though they still feel pain), slitting their throats, and then running them through a tank of scalding-hot water for defeathering.
What happens to turkeys in the slaughterhouse?
At the slaughterhouse, turkeys are hung upside-down by their weak and crippled legs before their heads are dragged through an electrified “stunning tank,” which immobilizes them but does not kill them. Many of the terrified birds dodge the tank and, therefore, are completely conscious when their throats are slit.
Does turkey poison its meat?
When slaughtering a turkey just like chicken the only thing you have to be careful not to do is to accidentally incise the gall bladder which can release bile and make the meat bitter. This is a myth.
What diseases do turkeys carry?
Other viral diseases that have been noted in wild turkeys include western equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis and eastern equine encephalitis. West Nile virus is prevalent in the United States and is another type of encephalitis.
Why are turkeys eaten at Thanksgiving?
For meat, the Wampanoag brought deer, and the Pilgrims provided wild “fowl.” Strictly speaking, that “fowl” could have been turkeys, which were native to the area, but historians think it was probably ducks or geese. ...
Why do we not eat turkey eggs?
The reason may be primarily about profitability. Turkey's take up more space, and don't lay eggs as often. They also have to be raised for quite a bit longer before they begin to lay. This means that housing and feed-related expenses would be considerably higher for turkey eggs compared to eggs from chickens.
How many turkeys are there now?
When the National Wild Turkey Federation was founded in 1973, there were approximately 1.5 million wild turkeys in North America. After 40 years of effort, that number has reached a historic high of about 6.7 million turkeys. But, today turkey numbers are down and are estimated at between 6 and 6.2 million birds.
Why are turkeys endangered?
The extinction event was attributed to either climate change as the glaciers shrank, or overhunting by Native Americans, or both. Hunting pressure certainly pushed the California turkey toward extinction, for turkey bones were found in multiple cooking sites.
