Sir, – Christmas is the season of peace and goodwill, yet there is nothing peaceful about the slaughter of the estimated one million turkeys that will be consumed in Ireland this Christmas.
The typical turkey for sale in an Irish supermarket, if it’s an import, will almost certainly have been housed for its short life in an indoor factory farm (90 per cent of all turkeys in the EU are raised indoors in intensive systems). A mass-commodity product that has a short, miserable and unnatural life, it has been selectively bred to have a large body and fragile bones.
The majority of Irish-raised turkeys will have lived out their briefest of lives in a shed or a barn, having never seen the light of day before their slaughter. All animals are complex, sentient beings, yet we treat them as if they had no rights at all. A vegan kitchen is the obvious ethical choice for the compassionate Christmas celebrant. – Yours, etc,
GERRY BOLAND,
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Co Roscommon.
Sir, – Three major Irish supermarket chains are selling turkeys for just €9 making them cheaper than a tin of biscuits.
In the wild, turkeys can live 12 years. In a factory farm their short miserable lifespan is probably 12-24 weeks.
Turkeys are intelligent, curious birds who can be playful just like dogs and cats.
What does it take to change our mindset and steer ourselves away from the horrors of factory farming? Better for us, the environment and, most definitely, the turkey. Their future is on your plate. – Yours, etc,
JOAN BURGESS,
Cork.
