With American Thanksgiving fast approaching, Farm Sanctuary is asking individuals to consider adopting a turkey instead of eating one. Their Adopt-A-Turkey program works to help mal-treated turkeys find some peace and tranquility and raise awareness about the brutal lives of turkeys forced to live in factory farms.
More than 45 million turkeys are destined for the Thanksgiving dinner table. The vast majority of them are raised in factory farm conditions. We caught up with Angela Barker, Farm Sanctuary communications coordinator, to ask her a few questions about adopting turkeys and their infamous Celebration FOR The Turkeys.
Why should people adopt a turkey for Thanksgiving?
Through the Adopt-A-Turkey Project, Farm Sanctuary urges people to start a new holiday tradition by saving turkeys, instead of serving them. Some families are adopting turkeys into their homes - where rescued birds live out the rest of their natural lives in peace and safety – while others are "adopting" turkeys who live at Farm Sanctuary through sponsorship donations.
Our rescued turkeys serve as ambassadors for turkeys everywhere by shedding light on the plight of factory farmed animals and encouraging people to consider compassionate alternatives to cruelty. This national project has saved more than one thousand turkeys from the slaughterhouse and has encouraged millions of people to rethink their traditional Thanksgiving menus.
Is the program also available for Christmas?
Yes! People can sponsor turkeys through the holidays for the Adopt-A-Turkey Project; although, the original intent was to educate consumers about turkeys for Thanksgiving. Turkeys can also be sponsored year-round through our Adopt-A-Farm-Animal Project.
What is the cost to adopt a turkey?
For a one-time $25 adoption fee, turkey sponsors receive a special Adopt-A-Turkey certificate with color photo and fun details about their adopted turkey, a Farm Sanctuary adoption membership for one year, and a one-year subscription to Sanctuary, Farm Sanctuary's quarterly newsletter.
We have six charming turkeys currently available for sponsorship through our Adopt-A-Turkey Project. Echo, Phoenix, Apollo, Faye, Hannah (see picture above), and Serendipity are all now anxiously awaiting doting sponsors for the holiday season. People who are interested in sponsoring turkeys who live at Farm Sanctuary can call our Turkey Adoption Hotline at 1-888-SPONSOR or adopt online at adoptaturkey.org.
Crowded inside dark, filthy factory farm warehouses by the thousands, commercially bred turkeys are treated like unfeeling commodities and denied the very basics of a natural life.
Are the turkeys 'rescue' turkeys?
All of the animals who are rescued by and reside at Farm Sanctuary are former victims of cruelty and neglect. Some of our animals are rescued during our investigations of farms, stockyards, auctions, and slaughterhouses; others arrive from humane societies and SPCA cruelty cases.
Blossom and Tinkerbell, two of the turkeys being home adopted this year via our Turkey Express delivery, were two of 11 peeps rescued from a Northwest Airlines' cargo disaster that claimed the lives of more than 9,000 turkeys in August of 2006. The fragile peeps were victims of improper and neglectful transport on a harrowing flight from Detroit to San Francisco. Destined for a massive breeding facility, the peeps who perished in flight likely overheated, dehydrated and then suffocated. An all too common fate for birds ordered from hatcheries and shipped via postal mail and as cargo aboard airlines to breeders and producers throughout the country, animals treated with such indifference are rarely guaranteed to survive.
The Turkey Express is an annual component to our Adopt-A-Turkey Project, for which rescued turkeys are personally delivered by Farm Sanctuary staff to safe, permanent and loving adoptive homes with vegetarian families nationwide.
Where does the money go?
The $25 adoption fee helps fund the care of the rescued animals at Farm Sanctuary's shelters, as well as our education and advocacy efforts on behalf of turkeys, and other farm animals, everywhere.
Turkeys are not protected under most state anti-cruelty laws, and they are specifically exempt from the federal Humane Slaughter Act.
What would people be surprised to know about turkeys?
Anyone who has spent time with turkeys will tell you that they are very friendly, social, curious and sensitive animals with desires and needs all their own - just like more common family companions, such as cats and dogs.
What is life like for a turkey in a factory farm?
Crowded inside dark, filthy factory farm warehouses by the thousands, commercially bred turkeys are treated like unfeeling commodities and denied the very basics of a natural life. They are bred to reach a crippling weight at an unnaturally fast rate, debeaked and detoed without anesthetic, at risk for disease, and plagued by constant stress and physical debilitations. Selectively bred to grow abnormally large breasts, they can no longer reproduce naturally, meaning all commercial turkeys are bred through artificial insemination.
These sentient creatures suffer immensely before reaching the slaughterhouse at only 14 to 18 weeks of age. More than 45 million of these unfortunate birds are destined for the Thanksgiving dinner table. Every year, between 250 and 300 million turkeys are bred for slaughter in the U.S. Sadly, these turkeys are not protected under most state anti-cruelty laws, and they are specifically exempt from the federal Humane Slaughter Act.
Is the adoption program tied in with the Celebration FOR The Turkeys?
An integral part of Farm Sanctuary's life-saving Adopt-A-Turkey Project for more than 20 years, our Thanksgiving Celebration FOR the Turkeys event brings animal friends across the nation together with rescued turkeys at our New York or California Shelter for a unique holiday extravaganza on the farm.
A memorable experience for humans of all ages, our celebrations boast quality meet-and-greet time with hundreds of friendly farm animals, entertaining guest presentations, camaraderie with compassionate folks, and irresistible vegan versions of favorite holiday foods. And no celebration would be complete without our famous Feeding of the Turkeys Ceremony, a cherished tradition where charming turkeys are doted upon and presented with festive platters of stuffed squash, cranberries, salad, and pumpkin pie. Routinely covered by local and national media, including the front cover of the New York Times on Thanksgiving Day 2007, this delightful and meaningful spectacle makes its way beyond sanctuary grounds and into the mainstream consciousness, where we make a powerful plea for mercy and offer a vision for a more peaceful way of living.
Both Celebrations, this year held on Saturday, Nov. 22, are sold out. Those interested in attending should try to register early next year. Event registration usually opens in September for the November events at both shelters.
Adopt A Turkey: http://www.adoptaturkey.org
Farm Sanctuary: http://www.farmsanctuary.org/
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