Emotional Horrors of Turkeys

Psychology Today magazine published an article last week which details the cruelty turkeys undergo around Thanksgiving. Published on the magazine’s blog Animal Emotions, “The Thanksgiving Day Massacre: A House of Horrors” debunks the myth that turkeys are not sentient beings, citing research by animal-behavior expert Ian Duncan that shows the birds feel pain, fear, and stress. Writer Marc Bekoff concludes his piece by encouraging readers to adopt more compassionate Thanksgiving traditions; More than 45 million turkeys are killed for the holiday each year, contributing to the annual total of 300 million slaughtered.