The U.S. meat business takes the lives of round 250 million turkeys every year—round 46 million for Thanksgiving alone—and most are hidden from the general public eye inside manufacturing unit farms.
Birds are sometimes portrayed as a logo of freedom, gliding as one with the wind, one thing we will solely dream of after we take to the sky in airplanes. Whereas they fly solely brief distances, wild turkeys can fly at speeds of as much as 55 miles per hour and attain treetops the place they spend their nights roosting collectively.
However on manufacturing unit farms, a turkey’s entire world is a crowded, barren, and soiled shed. Commercially raised turkeys can’t fly like their wild counterparts—however their mobility is much more restricted: some can barely stroll or stand. Typically, they turn out to be debilitated by the burden of their very own our bodies, bred to develop rapidly to a measurement that maximizes meat manufacturing whereas the birds pay the value. As they undergo all through their shortened lives, their most pure behaviors and social teams are denied to them.
At Farm Sanctuary, the place turkeys reside in peace, we’re fortunate sufficient to see their personalities unfold and witness the capabilities of their spectacular minds. In the meantime, the world of science can also be studying extra about these animals typically mistakenly seen as unintelligent.
Listed here are some astonishing information about turkeys!