Mutilations of Turkeys
Turkeys are adapted to the farm environment, instead of vice versa
Farmed turkeys are subjected to several painful interventions. These interventions are mostly carried out without anaesthesia and pain relief. Why? For more economic efficiency and thus cheaper eggs and meat.
Beak Trimming
Amputating
1
2
Beak trimming
- Purpose: To reduce injuries on animals when fighting and prevent them from pecking each other.
- Procedure: The birds are restrained, and their beaks are cut off by using a hot laser (infrared), without the use of any anaesthesia, even though it is very painful.
- Information: Beak trimming is very painful for the animal as the beak is the most sensitive body part of a bird and is needed for many kinds of manipulation. It can be compared to human fingertips and the amputation means loss of ability to cope with the environment, conspecifics and e.g. comfort behaviour.
Additionally, neuromas can occur in the residual beak, causing pain or nerve hyper-sensation (perceived as electric shock after contact with the respective area). Every contact, that a bird has with the beak, e.g. feeding, is accompanied by a negative stimulus.
The bird also loses its integrity and the ability for good welfare states by being adapted to the housing system and not vice versa.
If housing conditions would be adapted to the needs of the animals (e.g. by offering outdoor grassland, species-specific structures, more space and limited group sizes), there would be no need for beak trimming.1,2 - FOUR PAWS demands: A general ban on beak trimming. Beak trimming is a mutilation which is deemed necessary to mitigate the adverse effects of inappropriate keeping conditions instead of adapting the keeping conditions to the animals. No beak trimming of any kind should be allowed and performed.
Amputating combs, spores, toes, claws and wing joints (‘pinioning’)
- Purpose: To prevent animals from injuring themselves or each other when fighting and adapting them to the housing system instead of vice versa.
- Procedures:
There are many different amputations performed on the animals3:- Declawing: removing the claws
- Toe/claw trimming: removing of the tip of the three forward facing toes
- Dubbing: cutting off the combs
- De-snooding: pinching of the snood
- Pinioning: cutting off the distal wing joint or the 'thumbs' of poultry and fowl that permanently prevents them from flying
- De-spurring: cutting of the spurs in gobblers (male turkey)
- FOUR PAWS demands: A general ban on mutilations such as toe clipping, dubbing, or pinioning. Housing conditions should be adapted to the animal, providing them with more space and prevent injuries.
FOUR PAWS demands regarding mutilations of turkey
- A general ban on beak trimming. Beak trimming is a mutilation which is deemed necessary to mitigate the adverse effects of inappropriate keeping conditions instead of adapting the keeping conditions to the animals. No beak trimming of any kind should be allowed and performed.
- A general ban on mutilations such as toe clipping, dubbing, or pinioning. Housing conditions should be adapted to the animal, providing them with more space and prevent injuries.
Source
1. Gentle MJ. Pain in Birds. Animal Welfare. 1992;1(4):235–247. doi:10.1017/S0962728600015189
2. Glatz P, Rodda B. Turkey farming: Welfare and husbandry issues. African Journal of Agricultural Research. 2013;8(48):6149–6163. doi:10.5897/AJAR12.034
3. van Niekerk TGCM, Jong I. Mutilations in poultry European poultry production systems. Lohmann Information 42 (2007) 1. 2007 Jan 1.
2. Glatz P, Rodda B. Turkey farming: Welfare and husbandry issues. African Journal of Agricultural Research. 2013;8(48):6149–6163. doi:10.5897/AJAR12.034
3. van Niekerk TGCM, Jong I. Mutilations in poultry European poultry production systems. Lohmann Information 42 (2007) 1. 2007 Jan 1.