A COK Report:
Animal Suffering in the Turkey Industry
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Mutilations
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Once there is an open wound on an animal, cannibalism can
occur. |
Overcrowding in a barren environment is stressful for birds and leads to aggressive
behaviors, such as pecking the feathers, combs, toes, or vents off of other
birds. Once there is an open wound on an animal, cannibalism can occur.(30)
Aggression can be prevented by giving turkeys sufficient space, by keeping
flock numbers small, and by providing turkeys with an adequately stimulating
environment, including objects to explore and peck.(31)
However, these measures are considered uneconomical by turkey farmers, who control
aggression, in part, by removing those body parts from turkeys that are used
in fighting or are vulnerable to attack. Turkeys may have a large section of
their beaks removed, their toes removed, and have the fleshy appendages on top
of their heads removed (desnooding).(32) All
of these procedures are performed without anesthetic. Turkeys who are debeaked
and detoed are believed to experience chronic pain.(33)
According to a poultry science manual, debeaking can be done when turkey poults
are one day old, or later using heavy shears or dog toe clippers. If desnooding
is done after a turkey is three weeks old, it needs to be "cut off close
to the head with sharp, pointed scissors." Wings can be clipped with "sharp,
heavy shears, with hedge clippers, or with a sharp hatchet and chopping block."
Wing notching occurs when the producer severs the tendon "that crosses
the center of the outermost wing joint" with "a vertical red-hot steel
bar on the electric debeaking device." Toe clipping involves "clipping
the toes of each foot of day-old" turkeys—"5-inch surgical shears"
are used to remove "the tip of the toe…including all of the toenail."(34)
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