Why the life of a turkey is worth more than a Christmas dinner

Can you remember what it was you were doing at the beginning of September? No, us either, but that is likely when – if you are a meat eater – that turkey that you’re planning to roast on Christmas Day was born. 

The season of peace and goodwill is anything but for our feathered friends who, despite living around 10 years if allowed to live their natural lifespan, are slaughtered at around 8-26 weeks. The short time that they do get isn’t a pretty kind of life either. Most turkeys reared for the meat industry live in cramped industrial sheds with up to 25,000 stuffed into one unit. Not only are the conditions noisy and frightening, but these poor birds are engineered to weigh up to 25kg – the same weight as a female Labrador, which causes them to struggle to walk (if there was space to walk). Their legs have been known to snap under the excess weight. To put it into perspective, wild turkeys, without the interference of humans, weigh around 7,5kg. 

 

Those upcoming cosy Christmas dinner ads won’t show you the hell on earth these babies endure, and nor will they show you the panic they go through during their execution. Peta’s alternative ad featuring Tessa the Turkey should be the one to watch…

 

Beyond your plate

 

There are so many plant-based, delicious options that are much more in keeping with the season of goodwill than the killing of an innocent creature. Did you know that turkeys:

 

  • Male turkeys are called “gobblers,” after the “gobble” noise they make. They usually use this noise to impress females (which are called hens) and to show off to other males. 

 

  • When they get the chance, turkeys can run up to 25mph and wild turkeys can fly at 55mph! Sadly, because of their obesity, farmed turkeys struggle to run or fly. 

 

  • Wild turkeys roost at night in trees to protect themselves from predators. 

 

  • You can tell a turkey’s emotions by the colour of their heads! Depending on whether they are calm or excited, the colours change from red to blue to white, and the more intense the colours, the more intense their emotions.

 

  • Turkeys actually have better vision than humans – three times better in fact! They see in colour and their eyesight covers 270 degrees.

 

Plant-based Hopefield

Clive the turkey things to do in Essex with kids
Clive the Turkey

We’re often criticised by visitors for only serving plant-based food and drinks at Hopefield Animal Sanctuary. We’ve even had people withdraw financial support from us when we’ve dared to be vocal on our social media platforms for advocating for the birds and animals we saved from the meat and dairy industry. We see, day in and day out, the suffering that these creatures, all with complex emotions, go through to be what is, essentially, a 10-minute meal. 

 

We have heard over and over that it’s ‘free choice’ to be able to eat meat if one wishes, but where’s the free choice for the turkey that suffered its entire short life to end up on a plate next to your roast potatoes and carrots? We will ALWAYS be proudly plant-based, and if you want to give us shoddy reviews for that fact then that says a lot more about you than it does about us. We’re as much about education as we are about rescue, and if we make just one person stop and think about how your meal came to be, and at what cost, then we’re winning. And if you REALLY can’t understand why we will always be plant-based here, then it’s probably a zoo or fun park you would prefer to visit rather than a not for profit animal sanctuary. Thank you, as always, for those of you who do understand where we’re coming from and support us regardless of your dietary choices. 

 

Meet Clive

Clive the turkey things to do in Essex with kids
Clive and Snack arrived on the same day as chicks and are still besties a year on.

Handsome Clive (on the left in the main image) was brought to us this time last year having been found as a chick, literally running for his life from a turkey farm. Clive now lives his life with his bestie, Snack (named because he was accidentally dropped by a bird of prey into someone’s garden) surrounded by love and safety rather than peas and gravy. He is a cheeky chap who avoided a cruel fate of becoming a meal, and we’re thankful for him – and all the animals we’ve saved from a plate – every day, and being at thankful at Christmas is, after all, what it’s all about.  You can come down and see Clive and Snack in the aviary nearest to our playground the next time you’re looking for things to do with kids in Essex, and we know they can’t wait to meet you!

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