Bird is the Word

When a PETA member called to report a local news story about a chicken truck that had lost some of its “cargo” (birds) on the road, we went to work. Details were hard to come by, but we were finally told that there had been no accident–supposedly, a door on the truck had opened and a few birds had escaped, but they had been rounded up.

Knowing that the life of a chicken is considered the cheapest of all the animals raised on farms, we weren’t sure that the truck driver had really bothered to catch every escaped bird. Two PETA workers drove out to the scene and found the blood of dead chickens at the intersection. They searched in the thick grass and had all but given up when one of the rescuers caught a whiff of the unmistakable odor of a chicken factory–damp waste-covered feathers. Yes,there was a bird, trying to make herself as small as possible and virtually invisible in the grass. She was tired, scared, and filthy. They put her in the car.

Two blocks down the road, they came across two more PETA members who had also seen the news report and set out to help, too. These guys, along with the local animal control department, had rescued 42 birds who had fallen off the truck when it had pulled over. The chickens were then sent to sanctuaries. One flock went to United Poultry Concerns in Virginia, and another went to a veggie family in North Carolina. Unlike the hundreds of birds who didn’t fall out of the truck, they will all live “happily ever after.”

Did You Know?

Do the math! The United States kills 8 billion chickens every year for food–there are 6 billion people on this planet! Chickens are raised on huge factory farms where they are painfully debeaked, then crammed into tiny, filthy cages. Then they are stuffed into trucks and sent to slaughter.

Some people call themselves vegetarians, but they eat chickens. Chickens aren’t vegetables–they are friendly, curious animals whose personalities blossom when they are treated decently and offered sunshine, fresh air, and a chance to live.

This kid looks like he can sympathize with poor Tom Turkey. Maybe he knows that life is not exactly a barrel of laughs down on Old MacDonald’s turkey farm. Every year, 300 million turkeys are killed in the U.S. Tens of thousands of birds are commonly crammed into dark, dingy sheds and suffer from painful foot and leg problems because while their bodies have been designed to grow huge and fat, their little legs haven’t kept up with “technology.” When just a few months old, the friendly birds are sent to slaughter.

Did You Know?

Turkey is not a health food. A roasted turkey’s leg contains 72 milligrams of cholesterol and is 47 percent fat, more than many cuts of beef. Studies indicate that up to 90 percent of supermarket birds are contaminated with salmonella, campylobacter, and other dangerous bacteria.

Put On a Little Turkey-ofsky, Please!
Betcha didn’t know that turkeys love tunes, especially flute music. At the Farm Sanctuary, a safe haven for rescued farm animals, the turkeys all gather around whenever the radio is turned on and “sing” to the music. (We’ve heard that they also dance the turkey trot, but that could be just a rumor.)