The AI of the Turkey

Caution: The following may not be appropriate for you. You have been warned.

Demand for turkeys this time of year is probably greater than ever if I had to imagine. You might be wondering, where do all of these turkeys really come from and how do they produce enough for the consumption of turkey during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Artificial Insemination is your answer. That’s right, they rape the turkeys.

Essentially what is done is a person sits in the room full of male turkeys, picks one up, rubs and squeezes it, causing the male turkey to ejaculate into a valve that collects the semen. From there they do the reverse to the female turkeys (hens), clamp there legs open using metal forceps, and then they inseminate the hen. Each worker can inseminate on average 1,200 – 1,400 hens within two hours.

If you want more details about the process that the turkeys go through and the harsh living situations they have, visit http://www.satyamag.com/nov06/beeby.html.

Few final thoughts/questions:

Animal cruelty? Absolutely.
Is this something the government should do something about? Yes.
Am I going to eat turkey for thanksgiving? Yes.

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