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Rescued Turkeys Adopted in Time for Thanksgiving

Farm Sanctuary’s Turkey Express Delivers Rescued Birds to New Home in Millis, Mass.

MILLIS, Mass. – November 14, 2009 – Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, makes another stop on its Turkey Express as turkeys Odell and Royce arrive at their new home in Millis, Mass., on November 14. An integral part of the organization’s annual Adopt-A-Turkey Project for 23 years, this annual Thanksgiving event pairs rescued birds in need of permanent refuge with adopters nationwide.

“Thanksgiving is a grim day for so many turkeys never known for the bright, sensitive animals they are.” said Farm Sanctuary National Shelter Director Susie Coston, who will be making the delivery. “But for the turkeys who are welcomed home by Turkey Express participants, it is a joyful occasion. They will receive lifelong care and love from their generous rescuers.”

Odell and Royce began life in the same circumstances as turkeys who end up on Thanksgiving tables. When the two, along with over 60 other poults, were left at Farm Sanctuary’s Watkins Glen shelter in 2008, the baby turkeys had already endured the amputation of their toe tips and portions of their upper beaks. This painful and sometimes fatal procedure, standard among commercial turkey raisers, is the overture to lives of overcrowding, filth and disease for hundreds of millions of turkeys every year, approximately 46 million of whom are slaughtered for Thanksgiving alone.

But Odell and Royce will become part of a new Thanksgiving tradition as they are welcomed to their new home by Drucilla Roberts. “Every day will be ‘Turkey Day’ for these two,” said Roberts, who has rescued turkeys and pigs from Farm Sanctuary since 2002. “They will be pampered. I’m looking forward to enjoying their company for years to come.”

The Adopt-A-Turkey Project seeks to end the suffering of commercially-raised turkeys by offering a compassionate alternative for Thanksgiving. Since 1986, Farm Sanctuary has rescued more than 1,000 turkeys, placed hundreds into loving homes through our annual Turkey Express adoption event, educated millions of people about their plight, and provided resources for a cruelty-free holiday. To learn more about the Adopt-A-Turkey Project, please visit adoptaturkey.org or call 1-888-SPONSOR.

Those interested in home adoption, and who can provide refuge for two or more turkeys, are invited to contact Farm Sanctuary and apply to join its Farm Animal Adoption Network by visiting farmsanctuary.org.

Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the "food animal" industry through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming. Additional information can be found at www.farmsanctuary.org or by calling 607-583-2225.