CA: Rescued turkeys enjoying farm life

[Guest guest]

Awesome! Some Canadian woman even took a 24-hr. ride to join this Txgiving event! (On the other hand, look at this ridiculous article I just ran across: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/11/23/EDG6ELJ4AE1.DTL) Thursday Nov 23 Rescued turkeys enjoying farm life http://www.paloaltodailynews.com/article/2006-11-23-all-turkeys-saved --> You can post a comment at the end You can send a thankful Letter to the Editor: letters (@dailynewsgroup.com) By Denis Cuff / MediaNews Devoted vegetarians Dino and Barbara Collaro drove two hours to California's farm belt to attend a Thanksgiving feast where no one dared ridicule them for refusing to eat turkey. The honored dinner guests were turkeys - real ones - and the menu catered to the birds' favorite tastes rather than people's taste for the birds. The Collaros and 250 other people each paid $30 Saturday to feed pumpkin pie, squash, and

cranberries to Blossom, Lala, Tinkerbell and other rescued turkeys at the Farm Sanctuary, a nonprofit retirement home for farm animals. The group's Celebration of the Turkeys turns the table on the American holiday tradition that can find vegetarians squirming under the raised eyebrows and stares of their meat-eating friends and family members. "You can feel like an outcast," said Barbara Collaro, a Martinez resident. "This is fun. I have wanted to do this for years." The Collaros still plan to attend an extended family dinner on Thanksgiving Day with meat-eaters. On Saturday, however, vegetarians ruled the roost at the sanctuary for farm animals, including sheep, cattle, ducks, chickens and donkeys. Before eating a vegetarian meal featuring mashed potatoes, broccoli slaw and soy-based Tofurkey, the people served platters of vegetarian fare to 26 farm turkeys. Eleven of those turkeys were lucky to be there They were

among 40 that survived a cargo plane trip from Detroit to San Francisco in August while en route to a commercial farm to become breeding stock. Some 9,000 young turkeys on board died because of apparent overcrowded conditions, sanctuary operators said. Peninsula humane groups rescued 11 of the survivors and placed them at the Orland shelter. When feeding time arrived Saturday, Barbara and Dino and their 10-year-old daughter Cheyenne served squash and pumpkin pie to turkeys, who waited in a fenced enclosure just down from the shelter turkey barn. "Nobody likes my squash," Barbara Collaro said as the turkeys initially ignored her offering. Several of the 15-pound birds munched on Cheyenne's pie, spilling the gooey orange filling on their beaks. "I thought they were picky before," the girl said. "Now I see they are friendly." Back in Martinez, the Collaros have a menagerie of ducks, bunnies, cats, dogs and a pigeon that likes to

dance to music while standing on a platform outside the kitchen window. But this was Cheyenne's first exposure to a turkey, as was the case for many of the human guests at the 300-acre Tehama County sanctuary near dairy farms and cattle ranches. Electra Harris of Vancouver, British Columbia, rode buses for nearly 24 hours for her first opportunity to meet turkeys up close and enjoy a meatless Thanksgiving festivity. "Everyone you go, people will laugh at you because you don't eat turkey," Harris said. "Even my own family. They go, 'Ha. Ha. Ha.' They don't even want to talk about it." A librarian and part-time children's clown, Harris brought a turkey made of balloons for a table ornament. She also contributed $20 to sponsor a rescued turkey for the season, but declined the group's offer to adopt a turkey and take it home. "I don't have the room." Farm Sanctuary operators said there is both a whimsical and serious side to

their Celebration of the Turkeys held at their shelters in Orland, about 70 miles north of Sacramento, and in Watkins Glen, N.Y. Organizers said they want people to connect with farm animals as individual beings despite the social pressure to keep animals - their breeding and their slaughter - out of sight and out of mind. "This is a place where people can bond with the turkeys and see they have individual personalities and qualities, that they like to eat and sleep, hang out with their turkey friends," said Leanne Cronquist, the Orland shelter manager. She also had not met a turkey before putting her veterinary technician studies on hold two years ago to move from a Chicago suburb to work at the California shelter. The shelter turkeys live on easy street. They get a big farm yard to wander in, two meals a day, and a barn to sleep in at night. Turkeys on big factory farms typically are crowded in small spaces and fattened up to gain

weight fast, Cronquist said. Beak ends are cut off to prevent fighting in close quarters. But as their guests shot videos and photographs of children feeding and petting turkeys Saturday, sanctuary operators acknowledged the public is eating more turkey than ever in a search for lean meats. From 1970 to 2005, Americans' turkey consumption doubled to 16.7 pounds per person annually, says the American Turkey Federation. "They don't call it Turkey Day for nothing," said Sherrie Rosenblatt, a federation spokeswoman. "We believe in providing a safe and health nutrition source to Americans." After dinner at the Orland sanctuary, an animal protection activist advised the guests to use patience and tact in explaining their philosophy to close ones who eat meat from slaughtered animals. "You hear it from a lot of people, 'I don't want to think about it,"' said Lawrence Carter-Long. "There is some defensiveness and guilt involved. Don't wag

the finger (at people). It doesn't work." Jessica Likens of Berkeley, a dinner guest, said she used to hate Thanksgiving because her vegetarianism riled relatives. "My dad said, 'How long will this last?"' Now Likens organizes and cooks a gourmet vegetarian dinner for a large group on Thanksgiving Day. Even her parents are coming this year. As a door prize,, she ties together lottery tickets in the form of a wishbone. "You can have Thanksgiving without the turkey." Free the animals from lab experiments! Boycott China and their products for culling pet and stray dogs! Ban J-Lo and anyone else that wears fur!