Let us consider the origins of our Thanksgiving tradition. After the final harvest of the year, families came together to feast as winter loomed around the corner. They shared gratitude for overcoming a year of obstacles and celebrated moments of good fortune. With difficult months ahead, this holiday reinforced a sense of community. In a time before football was on TV and cranberry sauce came in cans, the focus of Thanksgiving was on our family and friends. How did we make this thankful experience synonymous with eating a turkey dinner?

Turkeys are far more than just vessels for stuffing. Turkeys are sentient beings, feeling an array of emotions and having distinct personalities from one another. One turkey may forge a strong connection with a caregiver, looking for cuddles, while another prefers to explore uncharted territory. These friendly creatures are emotionally and socially complex. After spending a few minutes with a turkey, you can learn to be intune with their mood. The muted coloring on the skin of a turkey’s head and neck showcases a calm, relaxed demeanor. On the other hand, bolder colors indicate bolder moods!

Sadly, in the mass production of animals, these vibrant individuals are exploited for profit. 68 million turkeys are slaughtered in preparation for the holiday season alone in the United States. Confined to four square feet of space each, over 15,000 turkeys live in the same coop. Filthy and overcrowded, humans will clip their beaks and claws to stop them from lashing out in anguish at one another. Turkeys are specifically excluded from the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, meaning they are conscious and afraid upon execution. Although they can naturally live for as long as a decade, turkeys raised in factory farms are killed between 12 to 14 weeks as hens, or 16 to 19 weeks as toms. This is a short fraction of their natural lifespan. How did we stray so far from the core values of Thanksgiving?

Instead of being a table’s centerpiece, turkeys are the center of attention at JP Farm Animal Sanctuary! Ronald the turkey, or Ronnie for short, is an important member of the JP family, and serves as an ambassador to turkeys everywhere. This Thanksgiving, you will find Ronnie displaying his beautiful brown and off-white feathers with his new friend, Rudy the rooster.

That’s me with Rudy the rooster

Throughout the year, Ronnie has been grieving the loss of his best friend, Bernard the turkey. Ronnie & Bernie arrived at their forever home together, and quickly became a part of each other’s flock. To help mend a broken heart, Lynn and Oscar have invited Ronnie inside their home to be part of their human flock! As one of the few special people with a turkey for a roommate, Lynn shares some insight into Ronnie’s day to day antics. “Ronnie can be vocal and likes to watch everything that is going on. He is sweet but can also be a bit stubborn at times. He now gobbles when Ace barks as a visitor arrives. He wants to be part of the family and will follow me around the house.” This Thanksgiving season, let us return to the roots of this thankful holiday. Together, we can redefine our holiday traditions to incorporate love and compassion for all living beings in our community!

With warmth & love,
Ashley the caregiver

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After taking a tour of the sanctuary, we would often ask our guests, “which animal did you find the most interesting?” and more often than not, the answer would be Ronnie and Bernie, our two resident turkeys. It always struck me as strange that so many people would choose the same animal but having put some thought into it, I wonder if it is because turkeys are animals who are generally one of the least acknowledged farmed animals.

Let’s face it, outside of Christmas and Thanksgiving, mentions of our feathered friends are few and far between and this being said, maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised that so many people are taken aback at just how friendly, funny and majestic turkeys truly are; I think it is pretty safe to say, turkeys are so underrated by society!

With Thanksgiving here, we really wanted to take that underappreciation and turn it on its head. We want to take this opportunity to sing the deserved praises of turkeys and speak to some of their little quirks that make them such charming and unique creatures. Whilst we can’t talk for all turkeys, we can definitely give some insight into the individual personalities of Ronnie and Bernie and we’ll even sprinkle in some turkey facts whilst we’re at it!

Both Ronnie and Bernie love to be around people but definitely on their own terms. They will happily follow you and stand next to you but if they don’t know you too well, they may still avoid your hand if you reach out to pet them; They will do this with the funniest little sidestep, whilst looking at you, out of the corner of their eye. They can be pretty picky eaters when they want to be. We eventually figured out they will eat a handful of blueberries in a matter of seconds!

JP’s Thanks-living Celebration 2021

One of my favorite things about this pair is how they will let out the most hearty ‘laugh’. You’ve probably heard it described as a ‘gobble’ rather than a laugh but it really sounds like they are hysterically laughing at you! They are always synchronized and my favorite times are when I have been in the barn cleaning by myself and I’ll break the silence with a sneeze and the second that sound escapes me, both Ronnie and Bernie will erupt in their laughter. It brought me so much joy every time.

Their confidence continues to grow and they get more and more adventurous as time goes on. They are more than happy to spend time with our human visitors and given the chance, they will wander off, up the hill, to go and see what’s happening at the house or in the chicken coop! So whether it’s humans, chickens, cows or pigs, Ronnie and Bernie are so at ease and seem to really enjoy the company of others.

So whether it’s humans, chickens, cows or pigs, Ronnie and Bernie are so at ease and seem to really enjoy the company of others.

Turkey facts

• They can fly up to 60mph and run up to 18mph.
• Their vision is 3 times clearer than our 20/20.
• Individual turkeys have their own distinct voices that can be recognised by other turkeys.
• They can memorize precise details of an area up to 1000 acres in size.
• The skin on their head and throat changes color – the bolder colors indicate more heightened emotions.
• The snood (fleshy part right above their bill) can grow to up to 5-6 inches and females are more attracted to longer snoods.
• Almost 50 million turkeys are killed for Thanksgiving every year.
• Babies will stay with their mother for about a year in the wild. Turkeys in the food industry will often never meet their mother and are instead born in an incubator.
• Turkeys are not protected from abuse by any federal laws and therefore often suffer greatly before they are killed.

Let’s give thanks with compassion this year and leave turkeys off of our plates!

Love to all beings ❤️
From Jenny & the whole JP Family

In the dairy industry, literally millions live in housing that is not natural, they are in confinement, their baby’s are taken from them, their tails are docked without pain medication, they do not always get adequate care and in many places the treatment they receive is horrific.

These social creatures are looked at as commodities, therefore they are treated below what most believe are humane standards. They are impregnated every year and within hours will be detached from their offspring. After continuous impregnation and milking most dairy cows are deemed as spent after 5 years and then sent to slaughter. If given the opportunity cattle can live a life span of twenty five years or longer. Cows are social animals and develop very close bonds and family relationships just like humans.

Dairy industry statistics

• “In the U.S., more than 29 million cows suffer and die in the meat and dairy industries every year.”(1)
• “The number of milk cows in the United States is approximately 9.4 million.” (2)
• “Of the 9 million dairy cows in the U.S., 3 million are slaughtered each year at only a fraction of their natural lifespan.” (3)
• Females born into the dairy industry will become dairy cows while male calves are seen as byproducts and either get slaughtered straight away or become veal meat. “About 700,000 veal calves are slaughtered in the United States annually…at up to three weeks of age and from…around 16-18 weeks.” (4)

Below is a story from our Caregiver Jenny Chambers that we wanted to share with you about a Mom and her baby on a dairy farm.

“Allie had 10 babies taken from her & was milked for 10 years before rescued.. …

Her Baby

by Jenny Chambers

She had carried her baby for the whole 9 months in anticipation and the day had finally arrived for her to welcome a new life into the world. The bond is immediate and she’s hit with an overwhelming sense of love and devotion. She wasn’t sure she could ever feel that way again, not after the last time, but gazing into the eyes of her newborn baby girl, she knew she would do anything she could to protect her. She prayed that her perfect daughter wouldn’t have the same upbringing she’d had and she prayed even harder that her perfect daughter wouldn’t meet the same fate as her last baby.

About a year ago, she had given birth to a baby boy and she loved him more than anything. Those first few days of motherhood had been the most rewarding days she’d ever experienced. She would comfort him when he cried, keep him warm when he got cold and spent hours just watching him sleep, folded up as small as he could get. So angelic. So peaceful. So innocent.

She’d been just getting into her stride when it came to being a mother, three days of paradise and it seemed like becoming a mum had made up for her own traumatic childhood. In those three days, she forgot about all of it; the way she had been callously taken from her own mother, when she herself was a baby; how she had been completely powerless against her captors as they’d beaten her. And yet, in that moment, it all had a purpose and as she looked down upon this child of her very own, it had all been worth it.

Evan was seen as a ‘byproduct’ of the dairy industry before rescued.

Her elation had been short lived. She’d tried to ignore the way her mind wondered to what her captors would do with her newborn son. He was hers, not theirs. But when they came in, that third day, nothing could have prepared her for the heartbreak. Her whole world collapsed around her and there was nothing she could have done to stop it. She’d begged and pleaded for them not to take her baby but they grabbed hold of him and tore him away. No tenderness. No kindness. No warmth. She reached the devastating realisation that she was completely at their mercy… and these people had no mercy. She cried for days, not knowing where her baby was, whether he was ok, whether she would ever see him again. By the time her tears had run dry and her heart had hurt so much she wondered how it was still beating, she knew she would never see her son again.

So here she was, just a short year later with a beautiful baby girl. She was relishing in motherhood once again and vowed never to let her captors take her away. She had a plan this time and she was putting all her faith into the plan working. The plan had to work. So when her captors came, she was ready. There were two of them but the unconditional love she was feeling for her baby girl had translated into the strength of thousands and she wasn’t going to let anything or anyone get in her way. She stood still at first, panicked, as one of her captors eyeballed her baby. As soon as he took his first step towards her, she ran straight at him, with all the force she could conjure up but before her bowed down head had the chance to strike, an indescribable pain shot through her legs and she fell to the floor. She tried perilously to get back up as she watched that man take ahold of her baby, with the same disregard witnessed just a year before. As she tried to find her feet and make another attempt, the captor, not holding her baby, hit her with the metal pole again. He did it with such force it made her whole body shake, so much so, she could see stars. He hit her again… and again. She could see blood, her own blood, splattering against the walls yet all she could think about was getting her baby back so she could protect her, console her. It was no use. And in the blink of an eye, her baby was gone. They had left her with nothing all over again. The pain she endured from the beating was nothing in comparison to the pain she felt inside, failing her baby again. She’d been wrong when she’d thought she could never feel as heartbroken, as when her son was stolen. That feeling hit her like a freight train. She couldn’t help wondering why. Why were they doing this to her? She had never done anything to them. Yet they had taken her from her mother when she’d needed her the most and now, they were ripping her babies from her, over and over again. No remorse. No compassion. No feeling. What was it all for? The beatings… The rape… The kidnapping…

As she sunk deeper into an impenetrable depression, the days of crying passed by, one at a time, not getting any easier. She called out for hours and hours for her daughter but no one was listening. She was gone. Her captors would come and go, blatantly ignoring her desperate cries as they forcibly hook her up to an invasive, painful machine and take the milk that was meant for her baby.

— Jenny Chambers

Solutions

If you were moved by any part of this piece, please know that you can help all farmed animals.

Here are some examples:

1. Try vegan / plant-based meals. If you don’t know where to start, please ask us as we have delicious recipes and easy tips!
2. You can be an advocate for animal rights by writing your local legislators to help farmed animals live better lives. There are many bills and petitions to sign. Legislation helps to ensure lasting results.
3. Explore online for cruelty-free products.
4. Support farmed animal sanctuaries.

Together we can make compassionate impactful choices.

Would you like to be a part of the sanctuary community? Sign up for our newsletter, write to us, share our sanctuary with others, volunteer or make a donation.

Love,
the JP Farm Animal Sanctuary family ❤️

References

1. PETA, n.d., Cows used for food, 23 February 2021, <https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/factory-farming/cows/>.
2. United States Department of Agriculture 2021, All Cattle and Calves inventory: United States, 23 February 2021, <https://www.nass.usda.gov/Newsroom/printable/2021/01-29-2021.pdf>.
3. Capps, A., 2014, 10 Dairy Facts the Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know, viewed 23 February 2021, <https://freefromharm.org/dairyfacts/>.
4. Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, n.d., Calves for veal, 25 February 2021, <https://woodstocksanctuary.org/learn/animals-used-for-food/veal/#:~:text=About%20700%2C000%20veal%20calves%20are,slaughtered%20around%2016%2D18%20weeks>.