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Turkey Cruelty Investigations
In modern agriculture, turkeys are confined to grow-out sheds, forced to stand on accumulated fecal waste and breathe in ammonia fumes as they are raised for meat. To prevent the birds from injuring each other in the crowded quarters, a portion of their beaks and toes are severed without the aid of anesthesia.
Typically, commercial turkeys are bred to grow at an alarmingly rapid rate, resulting in permanent health problems for the animals. Turkeys are slaughtered at 14 to 18 weeks of age.
Reaching slaughter-age, turkeys are transported via large flat-bed trucks for slaughter in overcrowded cages enduring all types of weather conditions. Arriving at the slaughterhouse, the fully conscious birds are hung by their legs and their throats are slashed. The Humane Slaughter Act and Animal Welfare Act exempt turkeys from legal protection.
Currently, East Bay Animal Advocates along with The Humane Society of the United States and five poultry consumers are challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s policy of excluding chickens, turkeys, and other birds killed for human consumption from the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958. Read the lawsuit filed against the USDA.
Exposing animal cruelty in modern agriculture is of utmost importance to East Bay Animal Advocates. Since 2003, EBAA has investigated turkey farm operations in California's San Joaquin Valley. EBAA investigators have rescued 58 turkeys from agricultural cruelty. | 
