Do you believe Thanksgiving turkey production or consumption is animal cruelty? Let’s start by defining animal abuse. Animal abuse refers to any act that causes pain, suffering, unnatural death or threatens or damages animals’ welfare. Animal abuse could be psychological, emotional, sexual, or even physical. You may be committing active maltreatment, passive neglect, or intentional omission. It could be direct or indirect.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals(PETA) has conducted research that found that US factory farms raise over 228 millions turkeys annually. Of those million, roughly 87,000,000 turkeys are slaughtered for Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter. According to some reports, the living conditions turkeys are raised in are inhumane. The turkeys spent months in cramped sheds measuring only 3.5 square feet each. Because they don’t have enough space to move around, this causes stress and health problems for them. They will start to pick at each other, and factory workers will take off portions of their turkey’s upper and toes. The snood would be cut for male turkeys. They would also remove the snood from male turkeys. It is considered animal abuse when a farmer uses their genetic manipulations to make the birds weigh 35 pounds in five months. This is because they are imposing their power over other species. This is animal abuse, according to the above definition. It threatens or harms the welfare of the birds. Turkeys subjected to this manipulation cannot walk anymore because of their excess weight. They can’t fly and are unable to participate in normal reproduction. To populate their farms with food, farmers resort to artificial insemination. This is another form of abuse, as they use their power to control another species and suffer the consequences. This type of pain eventually leads to stress which ultimately leads to birds quitting eating, and then their premature deaths. Abusive treatment is what causes the stress-induced pain in birds. Peter Singer writes in Animal Liberation. The Definitive classic of the Animal movement that “Pain and suffering are one and the same, and it is essential to prevent them from suffering.” (pp. 4193-4194) – This quote emphasizes that pain is not discriminatory and can be described as “pain in pain”.
The turkeys leave the factory farms and are then sent to the slaughterhouse. Theriocide by Piers Beirne explains that slaughterhouses are created to kill animals and make money selling them to humans. PETA’s website states that turkeys are placed upside-down by their weak and injured legs before being pulled through an electrified stunning’ tank. They are then slashed in the throats. As shown in the class video, some turkeys avoid the tank and are then conscious when their throats are slashed. Their throats are not properly slashed, so they are dragged in scalding water. This allows their feathers to fall off quickly and keeps them conscious and alive. We discussed consciousness and unconscious during a course in philosophy called Death & Dying. It doesn’t mean that you don’t feel any pain or discomfort.
Some cases have seen people go undercover, such as another video from class. This exposes horrible situations like purposely smashing birds against any danger, participating in sexual and physically harming turkeys, and so on. Some turkeys were not suitable for consumption and were put in piles along with other dying turkeys. I was shocked to see this and also to learn that the people involved in it are not abusing animals. Peter Singer says, “We must speak out for those who are unable to speak for themselves.” (pg. 257) PETA and other animal rights organizations, for instance, do exactly that.
However, this does not mean individuals are incapable of doing their part to end cruelty. Some people are not able to condone these actions, but they will still purchase the product in the markets. I was one among those who refused to condone the slaughterhouses’ actions but continued to buy their products, which allowed them to make a profit. I no longer purchase turkey for Thanksgiving. Peter Singer stated, “Until we stop eating meat, and all products of animal factories,” (pg. 3179. While it’s true that such actions must stop, one must first cease to consume meat from animal factories. I don’t see this happening anytime soon.
