New whistleblower footage captured in Quebec, Canada, reveals a turkey being repeatedly clubbed and left to slowly die. The disturbing video, released by the Canadian animal protection group Bien-être et sécurité animale, was taken at two commercial turkey farms in the Montérégie and Lanaudière regions.
Crammed into filthy sheds, many turkeys suffered from open, infected wounds and painful deformities. One of the whistleblowers was quoted in the Gazette:
From the moment you walk in … the odour of excrement is so strong … that is troubling enough. These animals have no direct access to daylight … most of the animals are fairly seriously injured. We saw wounds … all over their bodies, we saw individuals with claws or fingers curled back on themselves from walking on hard surfaces … which must be fairly painful. We saw animals under such mental distress that they were attacking each other. [Turkeys] are not particularly violent birds, but they are in such an unhealthy environment that they develop mental health problems.
Factory Farms Are Torture for Animals
These findings align with footage Mercy For Animals released in 2023, captured by a courageous investigator who went undercover at two factory turkey farms in Minnesota. The processor linked to these facilities, Turkey Valley Farms, slaughtered an estimated 135 million pounds of live turkeys in 2022.
The heart-wrenching footage reveals charred baby turkeys tangled in electrical wire, birds with bleeding wounds denied veterinary care, and thousands of turkeys crammed into warehouses. Our investigator said:
I watched the corralling crew as they kicked, threw, and dragged injured birds to load them onto the belt. One worker casually walked up to a tom [male turkey] and punched him in the face. The tom recoiled from the force. I felt as if I had just witnessed child abuse.
Take Action
Undercover investigators are vital for exposing the horrific suffering farmed animals endure in our food system. Did you know that just $20 can buy a meal for an investigator in the field, fueling their fight to expose cruelty at factory farms? Click here to learn more!
