HIGH street stores are already packed full of Christmas goodies. But as you plan your celebrations this year, please consider the plight of the millions of turkeys which will soon be being carved up.
Every year, around 35 million are slaughtered. They typically spend their short, miserable lives crammed together in dimly-lit windowless sheds. A 'meaty' male bird has now been bred to weigh about as much as an eight or nine-year-old child and is scarcely able to walk.
At slaughter-time, the birds will be hung upside down in shackles for up to six minutes before being killed.
Some will not be properly stunned before their necks are cut. And thousands of birds will enter the scalding tank while still alive.
Readers who would like a free Christmas Without Cruelty pack including delicious turkey-free recipes should send an SAE to Christmas Recipes, Animal Aid, The Old Chapel, Bradford Street, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1AW.
BECKY SMITH, Animal Aid.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article