For immediate release:
August 13, 2021
Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382
Washington – As reported in New york post This week, a new undercover PETA investigation reveals that workers kicked, stomped and beat turkeys sold by companies with “humanely raised” labels – so PETA is now targeting yet another turkey fiction. The group sent a letter this morning to President Joe Biden asking him to cancel the annual presidential “pardon” of the turkey, noting that this is a demonstration for farmer-farmers and that the birds have “spared” the former President Donald Trump ultimately left unattended and locked up in barren stalls at Virginia Tech and Iowa State University.
“When birds are treated like a soccer ball, it’s cruel for the White House to encourage industrial farming,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA asks President Biden to reject this stunt in which turkeys are used as a prop to advertise a violent industry that is a mockery of American values.”
A PETA investigator worked on farms supplying Plainville Farms, a Pennsylvania supplier, to top grocers including Publix, Harris Teeter, and All products… A PETA researcher found that workers regularly kicked and stomped many turkeys, including those that were sick, injured and unable to walk. The workers tried to break the necks of the turkeys, but they failed, they convulsed and died in agony on the floor. Instead of trying to stop the violence, one executive kicked the turkeys too and scolded a PETA investigator for not doing the same.
PETA, whose motto is in part that “the animals are not ours to eat” – opposes arrogance, a worldview focused on human superiority. For more information visit PETA.org or subscribe to the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram…
PETA letter to Biden follows.
August 13, 2021
Dear Mr. President:
Greetings from the world’s largest animal rights organization with over 6.5 million members and supporters. Please see photographs of the plight of four turkeys, former President Donald Trump, “pardoned” in White House ceremonies to bow to the meat industry, unworthy events that make the role of president a laughing stock and cause immense suffering for birds. Before the plans for this year’s fiasco begin, we have a request: don’t do this, please. Indian industry is badly tarnished. Just this week, PETA reported workers kicked, stomped and beat turkeys sold by companies with deliberately misleading “humanely raised” labels.
Industrial agriculture is a dirty business that contributes to the pollution of water and land, and the antibiotics given to the birds on these farms create antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. The industry has been implicated in the spread of zoonotic diseases, including avian influenza and cryptosporidiosis, and is also offensive to millions of Americans who will celebrate Thanks Vegan this year for humane, environmental, religious or medical reasons. Already, 9.7 million Americans are vegan, and sales of vegan meat have skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic, as have searches for vegans. Google Trends data shows that vegan life is twice as popular as it was just five years ago and is growing exponentially.
The “pardoned” turkeys of yesteryear disgrace the presidency. Chained to barren tents at Virginia Institute of Technology, they are deprived of any meaningful or fulfilling life. They are depressed and filthy due to living conditions, and they plucked out a lot of feathers due to stress.
Mr. President, please promote kindness and a healthy lifestyle by eliminating the outdated and absurd ritual of presidential “pardon”. The turkeys did not commit crimes requiring “pardon.” They are gentle birds that are slaughtered in infancy at the age of 12 to 26 weeks. They are hung upside down from metal shackles and dragged through an electrified bath, often conscious while their throats are slit. They are then thrown into the hot water of the tanks to be emptied, sometimes alive.
We hope you enjoy the vegan Thanksgiving this Thanksgiving and we will encourage other Americans to do the same. You will be known as the president for starting a new tradition that saves lives and protects the planet.
Thank you and our best wishes to you and your family.
Yours sincerely,
Ingrid Newkirk
The president